Dawn Of War: Where They Belong
by Big Boss Pugh
Summary: With the Tau, the Eldar, and the Imperial Army now stranded in a new galaxy, the Sons of Malice and old orks of Bone Snappa seek to destroy them. Max is missing; Balrok is scheming. The new threats must be fought here and now. What price must be paid? Who will die to bring peace to this new world they now share? This is their story.
1. Chapter 1

**Dawn of War: Where They Belong**

_There will always be a time for change and growth; the change that one must endure will always come unexpected. The change can either be a great one or a terrible one. Growth is always occurring. It will never stop. To grow from hardship is the thrive. To grow from conflict is to understand. In the end, the only way to truly know your worth is to understand yourself._

**Chapter 1: Section 1 – 1**

The thin lines slowly form around the smooth surface. As the lines continue to take different directions, each one grows wider and expands more. Suddenly, a sound is made. The terrible sound does not bring comfort to the one closest to it; it is horrible. Each thin line is now slowly being repaired. Many more are not making any recovery. A terrible thought occurs as one looks on with fear of what is being trapped. Though the spells and rituals are brilliant, they can only do so little. It has been four days that the spells and rituals have kept him encased. Every day that goes by is a day to prolong the plans. The only question that remains: _How long will this last?_ The silent woman looks on with nerves of worry and fear. She sleeps when she can and listens to the warp break around the individual; there is no telling when he will awaken. She recalls the events of how everything happened between them. It comes to her with thoughts of horror as he told her: _Show me what I am missing._

She thought, _"The spells are strong, but this does not bode well. Each day the spells crack and reform only to be slightly weaker than the last time. I can't hold him back if he wakes up."_

A massive wave of warp energy shoots out, but she holds her ground. The warp pulls back around him and continues to circle his body. As Max Johnson lays still and rests, the fear continues to build up more and more. Soon, Max will be free from his warp prison. As she continues to watch over him, conflict comes to the forces of order. They finish up their daily skirmish against the orks of Ork Boss Tharacka. Each attempt keeps the imperial guardsmen aware; the imperial guardians stay focused. Ogryns beat their chest with might. Skitarii legions and tech-priests continue to gather data as fast as they can. Even the citizens of the imperium celebrate the last few skirmish as grand victories; however, the leaders and more seasonal officers know this is just a small spark to set off a large fire. He keeps his mind focused on the areas around the land. The new port by the sea is grand for fishing and perfect for the War Harbinger repairs. Every monitor around the land shows the defense lines holding back small ork bands. No reports of death come from any officers; he would be proud of this accomplishment if the greater threats were not around him. A soldier comes to him and reports the recent scouting.

She says, "Lord General Turner, the land to the west is still clear of orks. They seem only focused on the south region assaults. My scouts from the east are still making discoveries for new fields for us to expand farming. I can relocate them to the south for ork engagement…"

Lucas holds up his hand and replies, "Keep to your scouting in the west. If the east must be used for future farms, we will only do so when it is time. Right now, we got twenty set up and heavily guarded our areas. I expect a new expansion to the sea if we can use it to our advantage."

The scout takes her leave; Lucas sighs a little and gives himself time from the monitors. He heads over to the science area. A few officers deliver him the reports of combat; every report gives him pride yet he knows that the orks are not to be easily underestimated. He signs off on the reports and orders each officer to keep the updates going by the hour. Once his signature is placed, each officer goes to report back to the front line, the medic teams, or the artillery squads. He steps toward the doors in front of him. With a scan of his eyes, the door grants him access. The sound of the hydraulics operating hiss with a loud noise; the doors slide to the side and reveal the inner workings of the place. From the study of the resources to the development of technology and science, Lucas looks around his head to see every tech-priest, engineer, mechanic, and operator handle new features for the computers or the systems installed on the War Harbinger. He walks in as many salute him and praise the Omnissiah for him coming by; he nods his head and allows them to continue. A single skitarii rifle holder approaches him. With a gesture of his hand, Lucas follows him to find the one person he needs.

In the first area, tech-priests look over the weapon upgrades for the imperial army. The new and improved lasrifle burns away more flesh. The laspistol and bolter handguns now have as much kick for firepower. As always, the guns for ogryns are updated with more bullets and designed for close quarters; in fact, the shields are now stronger than before. Lucas looks over to see a new metal being melted down and added on the armor of the guardsmen. From flame throwers to bullet fire, each armor for the army is more resistant to damage. The next area has skitarii squads adjusting and altering their rifles. Many want to be able to shoot as far as five thousand yards; many more want maximum damage with every bullet cracking a head into many pieces. As they test fire and magnify the scopes, each rifle warrior is ready to check the new features they add on. The third section has resources ranging to many types. A few are stone like and others are metal; the science department studies the very generic form of planets and small animals found. Lucas passes by the impressive work they all do. As they continue on, the curious questions come to mind.

Lucas asks, "If you don't mind, how has she been doing?"

The rifle holder replies, "The _Blessed Techno Woman_ has now completed the new components for the ship and the fortress. I dare say that the Great Omnissiah has given her more knowledge each day she completes her tasks. Despite her need to work forty-eight hours straight, she allows us all to rest up and sleep eight hours a day. Sometimes, a lot of us go as far as ten. I am impressed with her need to have us be stronger and better..."

They both arrive at the last area of a large room. Lucas bids the rilfe holder farewell and steps inside. The sound of electricity is loud and great. The humming of machines is pushing out steam; all around his head is the beauty of machine, metal, technology, data, and science. Lucas didn't know where to look. There is no way to find her in all of this mess. He looks up to see a machine buzz with power. He checks out his left only to see more computers pump data all over the place. He scans the right of the room and sees movement. Is it her? Why does she hide? Lucas calls to her twice, but there is no response. He goes over to find a small object moving. Lucas taps the top of the object only to see a small bot float in front of him. Before he can touch it again, something heavy falls on him screaming. He looks around to find his hands being held down. Now, there is something hard and metal moving through his clothes. He looks up to see two beautiful eyes look at him. One eye is still human with a green color; the other eye is metal with a red light. The head is half machine and half human. Lucas tries to not smile so much, but he can't help it.

She says, "Do not touch it. I am trying to see if this will work."

Lucas asks, "Are you getting enough sleep? I'm told you are working forty-eight hours straight. Plus, I don't want your desire for technology to drive you insane."

Lina straddles Lucas with such desire. He grips her hips to help her focus. She sighs and realizes that he did require more than just knowledge from her. She pulls herself from him and he stands up. Before he can try to speak, Lina begs him to follow her.

She says, "The bot you met is the new service droid for the imperial army and fortress. If I can update this code and modify it for simple commands, the fortress will be more secure and more informative for everyone. My next project will be to give the battle tanks more capabilities to keep the enemy at bay or force them to consider retreating; I have been overlooking the last few battle tanks. They are poor looking to analyze now thanks to their ineffective guns. I may be able to change that in the new few more days. The fortress is still improving each day. There are more anti-air guns online for any sign of trouble. Each gun on the wall and towers now fire melta rounds and grenade shells. I may be able to change that into a high power laser instead. Oh, I nearly forgotten to update you on the armor for you…"

With a sudden surprise on her, Lucas grips her greatly and locks her against the desk. She can easily slip away, but instead, Lina finds herself at his mercy. She looks up with eyes of wonder. The additional arms and attachments on her slide over him.

He says, "I need my woman to be here now with me. Or, must I send your thoughts to other areas?"

Lucas grips her correctly to let out a moan; Lina wraps her arms around him.

She says, "I will…take a break from this. You only get one hour."

Lucas squeezes her tightly and continues to grab until she laughs and tries to hold back the constant ideas of what he really wants.

Lina begs and happily laughs, "Ok, ok. I'll stop for a whole day. No more anything until otherwise."

He sighs greatly and kisses her passionately. Every idea of data slowly leaves her mind and turns to happiness. Now, she is feeling the same happiness he always gives her. The door slides open only for them to find Carl catching them both in an unpleasant state.

Carl sighs, "You know, if you two need more time, I can always come back when I believe you both are ready for my reports."

They both sigh and pull away from each other. Though Lina steps out of view, she reminds Lucas that he isn't done yet.

Lucas says, "What brings you over here? Anything from the south region of the fortress?"

Carl answers, "Well, everything is going well. We get the most orks coming to our area, but I believe there is more motive. The orks keep testing our fortress walls and causing the system to send out alerts…"

He tries to hush his words, but Lina says, "Really? What are the new weapons and armor like? How strong is your squads now?"

Lucas sighs and allows him to continue, "Well, it is still new to us. Right now, many tech-priests are assisting us. They are boosting the power, but many fear it is too much."

Lina comes from the corner armed with a new set of mechanic arms; Lucas and Carl look to her with surprise.

She says, "I was wishing for more orks to keep coming. With these additional attachments on me, I can now assist you both at the front. I got the idea from the tech marine that attacked you. Based on the report, I modified a suit for combat. So, now I can use my arms to project an energy shield. And, I need to see firsthand how well the tech teams are now doing. Let's get to the south region. I am anxious to see what I can do."

As she rushes pass them, Lucas gives Carl a look of annoyance.

He says, "You just had to say the word _system_. Ugh, and now I have to make sure she doesn't get too happy trying to do everything to help the others."

Carl chuckles slightly, but they hurry after Lina. The three climb aboard a shuttle head to the south. Despite one area of the land being a massive fortress for the imperial dominion, the south region has a mixture of species. From the kroot and ogryn to the eldar and tau, everyone does their part to ensure no threat would come to them. The sound of lasrifles firing keeps them going; the kroot warriors jump at the enemy and bite down on their neck, arms, and legs. The fire warriors and imperial guardians stand shoulder to shoulder as they keep the orks from advancing further in. Even the eldar join kroot teams to slash and cut off limps of the green skin horde. Lina, Lucas, and Carl arrive to witness teamwork between the groups. The shuttle lands safely near the command center. Lina goes off to find her tech teams and tech priests; Carl and Lucas journey to the command post. Along the way, many imperial soldiers and citizens praise them both for making an appearance together. They smile and keep the morale high; many reports continue to come to them both. Each one still shows success. They both step inside the command post to find human and tau standing together. They look over their resources and combine tactics of warfare. Lucas goes further in only to see Carl look around as though he is expecting an ambush.

He says, "Is there something wrong? You seem nervous."

Carl replies, "It is not that I am nervous, but I am expecting her to surprise me yet again."

Before Lucas can ask about the individual, an alert goes off. Lucas goes to mobilize the troops and Carl receives updates.

A soldier reports: "Sir, the orks are massing in large numbers. They are outside of the kill zone. We expect an attack."

Carl keeps his soldiers ready; Lucas is heading to the front and Lina is instructing her teams on what to do. The orks of Tharacka are now coming, but what are they up to?

**Chapter 2: Section 1 – 2**

They roar and shoot. The sight of them is disgusting; they only see war as a means to solve their problems. The green skin horde keeps no records of what they do. All that matters to them will be crushing the enemy in a wave of green muscle. Lucas and Carl stand firm; each one of them keeps the men ready. To their surprise, the tau fire warriors stand at their service. Just ahead of them out of the kill zone, the orks roar and stomp the ground. They growl and snarl and scream the famous battle cry. To see so many orks is never a good sign. The looter tanks roll forward; the massive nobs lead their mobs. With nothing else holding them back, the orks move forward differently than before. Lucas and Carl receive the sudden change in their tactics. Carl becomes worried, but he sees Lucas calm. When asked why, Lucas explains.

He says, "The orks are trying to use a simple trick on us. First, they are attacking the front of the entrance into the south. We engage them, but they have sent more war parties to the surrounding edges of the fortress. This plan can work, but we will be keeping them in front of us. Once they are in range, we will open the entrance and let them come in. Like before, orks can't resist the chance at trying to claim a head if it is out in the open."

Carl wonders if what Lucas says is true. Shortly, a report comes to him about the orks marching off groups to the side of the land. Lucas smiles greatly and sends an order to the gate operators.

Lucas says, "On my order, open the south region gate and prep for an ork rampage."

The gate operator nervously replies, "Request acknowledged. You want us to let them in?"

Lucas confirms his order, but Carl thinks he is going too far. Everyone watches Lucas step forward with confidence and pride. Many guardsmen look to him as though he is invisible and can't be harmed. A few imperial guardians take out their swords. With his lighting sword high above his head and his bolter out, Lucas turns to everyone and smiles.

He cries, "For the Imperium of Man!"

Lucas leads the charge forward to the gate. The personal guard follow him closely and give the order for others to follow him. Carl issues a charge to all. Once they are half way there, Lucas gives the word to open the gate. The orks slowly push through and roar with delight. Normally, it would be Max leading the charge and surprising the enemy. Now, everyone follows Lord General Lucas Turner to the front. As the orks slam against the might of the imperial hammer, packs of kroot warriors join the battle. The sound of lasrifles firing surround everyone; the orks slaughter two at the most before being taken down. The sword shocks and kills many orks with every slash Lucas does; he breaks away from his personal guard and takes the fight to any ork in his way.

A soldier is about to have his head crushed only for Lucas to slay the beast. He continues moving forward and guns down two more orks. An ork nob tries to cut off his head, but Lucas rolls to the side. He fires his bolter at the beast and stabs it through the head. Five orks try to gain up on Lucas, but a surprise comes to him. A powerful warp spell sends the beasts rolling back. Lucas hears a web way portal open. It didn't take long before the eldar join the battle. The great enchanter uses his eldritch powers to shock and burn the orks.

Veldoran says, "So, you still want to get your hands dirty? I thought your military leaders prefer your kind to stay in the rear?"

Lucas scoffs at the notion, "Ha! I am not like any of the imperial commanders you fought and killed. If my men and women of the imperium are to fight at the front, they will see me cutting down any in my way to support their fight. Now, if you will excuse me, I see an ork that is missing my sword. I need to plunge it into its head."

Lucas continues going forward at the ork nob. A few soldiers look to see him leap into the air and stab the large ork. The ork grips his throat as it tries to kill him, but a new blade is stuck in the beast. Carl shoves his sword as hard as he can into the side of the monster. The ork tries to fight back only to feel its head roll from the shoulders. She stands before everyone to look upon her beauty. Though her actions are not forgotten, none can forget how deadly she is. Kayleth leaps into the mobs of orks. She allows the power of Khaine to burn the field as she draws on the power from the warp. The orks continue to come in. Kayleth slaughters the mobs with ease until too many overwhelm her. The orks pile on her only to be set on fire from the flame that circles around her. Kayleth roars loudly as her connection to Khaine gives her more power. A few orks come at her only to be taken out by the dancing champion of Cegorach. Shelia leaps left and right at the orks; she twists her body and cuts out the eyes of her enemy. The alliance of tau, eldar, and human prove too much for the orks. m\Many retreat to bring help. With most of the orks gone, only five ork deff dreads stomp their way towards them. Everyone stands with nerves of steel until a surprise comes to them. Lina walks to the front. She smiles too greatly at the problem. Lucas and Carl call to her only to see her look at them with eyes of happiness.

She says, "I am glad these things are here. Now, I can show you how much the Great Omnissiah has given me the knowledge to beat the impossible."

Lina turns to face the towering machines. She actives the four additional arms on her new suit. Each arm aims at the massive ork deff dreads; everyone didn't know if she wants to die or if this was a part of her plan. A beam of light fires into the ork machines. Once enough is done, the ork deff dreads stop moving. The last one stomps it way towards her; she continues to smile and surprise her enemy once more. The arms fire beams of light at the last ork deff. Once enough is done, the machine stops only to blow up afterwards. The victory is complete and everyone stands now eager and ready for more. Lucas, Carl, and Lina join Veldoran, Kayleth, and Shelia. The trio stand glad and proud to see each other again.

Shelia says, "Despite how unrelaxing I am around orks, you are less troublesome than they are."

Lina chuckles, "Well, it has been a long time since we all were around each other."

Veldoran adds, "Indeed, though the orks are now going to rethink how to fight us now. It is still slightly interesting to see them use methods to overcome us."

Lucas laughs, "They tried, but most of their techniques are useless against us. I am glad you are all doing well."

Kayleth nods her head and makes no reply. Carl looks to her with some worry.

He says, "Well, this region secured and thanks for showing up. I have reports to clear up and I'll catch up with you later."

Kayleth agrees, "And I have the future to consider as always. Without the spirit stone of farseer Elenwe, things must be carefully considered."

As the two walk off, everyone wonders what is going on between them. As they four continue their chat, a familiar face joins them. He lands beside them with his suit hissing. Commander Shas'O Kais stands before others to report his own ork killings.

He says, "These orks are relentless in their pursuit to destroy us. I managed to slow them down in the south-western territory, but they will recover. We must have more heavy strike teams and artillery ready to counter them."

Lucas replies, "I see the amount of ork blood on you shows how much fighting you have been doing. Where are your friends?"

He adds, "Aun El Rai is still assisting with the construction of the wall and keeping the morale of the civilians high. Despite how powerful the orks are, he believes that getting his hands dirty with the common folk seems to inspire them to work harder. He will be waiting for you at your command center to discuss future plans for our cooperation against the enemy."

Away from his allies and friends, Carl keeps his mind buried in the paperwork. He goes over the information of how every attack the orks have tried. The first report states the use of overwhelming numbers; it lacks the focus of how to use. A new report shows tactics being attempted to lure the troops out. The more he reads on, the more intrigued he becomes by how smart the orks are trying to adapt.

He thought, _"These orks are really trying to get in. I wonder which war boss among them has enough intelligence to motivate them."_

The steps are soft and quiet. The eyes are focused on him; each exhale is low and quiet. Every inhale must not be heard. The hands are ready to surprise him if he is truly not paying attention. Carl keeps his eyes heavily focused on what every video feed shows him. He sees an ork die from a head shot. A second ork is killed by a kroot warrior; the results end with the kroot team feasting on the ork. The hands are up and anxious. Carl isn't paying attention. Before he can view any more videos, he feels his shoulders being touched. He quickly turns around to find Suu happy to see him. Though mostly covered in dirty, she smiles.

Suu says, "I am happy to see the orks didn't take you from me."

Carl sighs, "Last I checked, you are not supposed to be here unless it is business. Your act still keeps my soldiers and allies wondering if there is something going on."

She rubs her rifle and tries to not blush; Carl scratches his head with curiosity.

He continues, "Look, I don't know how tau and human relationships truly work, but you have caused me trouble already. Now, my own allies and friends look at me as though I am the traitor to the imperium. Why did you really do that? Kissing me was a huge mistake and one that I know is death by firing squad for me. Since I didn't kill you or show you any signs of harm, everyone looks to me as a problem. They see me as a second coming after what Max did a long time ago with his favorite, Kayleth. I may not have his strength or gifts, but I stand for the imperium and why…are you doing that?"

Suu moves to him. Carl grips his sword by the hilt and urges her to stay back. Instead, she loosens up her armor and slowly strips before his eyes. Carl blocks his sight and prays.

She says, "It is not what you think. I only want to show you something. I promise to keep myself covered."

He peeks out from his hands and sees a strange sight. Carl removes his hand and looks at the damage done to her. Suu's body is covered with marks, slashes, and wounds that have healed into scars.

He curiously says, "What happen to you?"

Suu turns away as though she is ashamed but answers, "Long ago, I was on patrol with my old unit. We had invaded a planet that was still under human occupancy. Our mission was simple: _Secure the facility from the humans. Offer them peace they surrendered._ As we made our way through the structure, every human laid down their arms before us. We thought they were ready to give up and join our cause; this was a lie. After we relaxed our guard, they captured us. Most of my unit died and only five of us was left."

She continues, "The first one was stripped of all his armor. They cut him over five hundred times and slowly let him bleed out; he was in pain for a long time before he died. The second one was cut up into sections slowly. The humans didn't use any pain dampeners or ways to relieve him of the pain. The screaming went on for hours. The third was suffered a much worse fate; they used small devices to skin him alive. The skin came off like slices; they didn't stop even after he died. The fourth member was force to fight against handfuls of human combatants. They gave him only a knife. For every attempt he tried, nothing worked. I saw him get beaten down only to rise up again and again. He managed to wound and injury ten before they beat him to death. The last thing they did was tie him to a pole and leave him hanging from the ceiling. I was the only female left on my team; the only thing I wanted to do was have a quick death. Instead, a few more depraved humans had something else in mind for me. They took me to room. There were two lights; one light was above my head and the other in a corner. I still can see their faces. All six of them surround me. They made sure my hands were tied up. First, they removed all my armor from me. I was completely at their mercy; one of them tore off my clothes just below my waist. Instead of cutting me up, they…"

Carl touches her shoulder. He sees a tear come from her eye.

He says, "You don't have to finish, but why are you telling me this?"

Suu turns back to him and answers, "I remember all the look of hope my last four comrades had. Each one smiled in the face of death; they all died believing in the greater good that someone will come. At the time, I was young and inexperienced. It was their unshakable bravery that made me believe this was not my end. I tell you this because I want you to know me."

She reaches for his face. Carl didn't know what to say. Suu moves closer to him and wraps her arms him. He looks into her eyes with some admiration. The moment is cut short when a soldier calls to Carl.

She says, "Sir, I have word from…oh? Did I interrupt you both?"

Suu says, "No, I was just needing his assistance with my armor. He helped me; I will leave you any reports on what our next step is."

Before Carl can reply, Suu hands him a device and heads out the door.

Carl says, "It is alright. Suu is just keeping her distant. What is going on?"

The woman soldier says, "We got reports from our teams out in the field. The orks are trying something again. Lord General Turner needs you to be leading the next advance. He is giving you command over the next five companies and providing you air support."

With his orders being clear, Carl dismisses the soldier and preps for battle. He still can't believe the story Suu told him. He didn't know if she is wanting him to know or trying to convert him over to the Tau. In minutes, Carl joins the five companies and address the officers with promise of victory. Though he still is unclear about the orders, Carl knows his duty and would follow it to the letter.

He broadcasts to the companies: "Here me now, we are moving out to take the fight to the orks. Let them bring us a fight. We are ready for them. Long live the imperium of man."

The soldier cry, "Long live the Emperor of Man! We shall find victory!"

**Chapter 1: Section 1 – 3**

They march out in waves and proudly declare victory. The songs of how the mighty fall to a lasrifle shot are greatly sung; the men and women of the imperial army see only the enemy falling before them. The orks are many and out-number them greatly; however, the odds for the orks winning are zero chances. At the front of his company with all the proper motivation given to him, Carl reads over his orders given to him from Lord General Militant:

"_We received pings from our scanners and servers in the south west region. A few pings are above normal readings. It is possible the Sons of Malice are in the region. You are to take a company of five imperial guardsmen with you to investigate. I will join you as soon as I can, but I got to make sure the tau ethereal isn't just making any plans to subdue the population to his rule. For now, Lina and I can keep the main force safe from any more alien influence. Aun El Rai and Commander Shas'O Kais have much they wish to discuss with us. If anything, I shouldn't be worried since they keep on trying to help out where they can. If you find anything worth looking into, contact me asap." **Letter of Lord General Militant Lucas Turner of the Imperial Guardians.**_

Carl folds up the note and places it away. He looks to the distant land and prays that this will be a great distraction. The story of Suu still has him confused as to why she would continue to pursue him.

He thought, _"She suffered so greatly at the hand of the humans. Yet, why would she want anything with me?"_

Before he can think of anything else, an alert comes to his radio. He takes the call only to hear a familiar voice.

Suu says, "I just now heard of your investigation in the south west region. I will be catching up with you shortly. Please, do not go alone at this. Aun El Rai and Commander Shas'O Kais will be at the base; they have given me leave to help you."

Carl grumbles and replies, "This is only imperial business. I won't be going in short-handed against the orks. You can happily stay back and watch the perimeter."

She proudly answers, "I will not do such a thing. My company is in route to you; we will meet your company soon. I can't bear the idea of you failing your mission."

Carl sighs and agrees to the idea. The imperial army comes to a halt and setup base; they find the area covered in a mess. The orks did love to leave destruction in their wake. Carl takes his first company out with him and leaves the others to defend.

He informs everyone by radio, "Be aware, the tau forces will be with us soon. See to it that the commanding officers are updated. Watch for any ork surprises."

Before he can speak any more, a voice comes to his ear, "You would do well if we came along with you."

Carl becomes startled by the voice of Shelia as she leaps around him. A few more harlequin join her as they surprise the men and women with their entrance.

He says, "What are you doing here? Why have you come?"

Shelia answers, "My eldar kin suffer without proper guidance. The fact that we are relying on your kind for help makes many of us still uneasy; however, there is more to it."

Carl shakes off the surprise and continues to move his first company out into the area. He informs the other companies by radio that the eldar may be in the area. As the soldiers move out, they look around to see the mess of the orks. From trees torn down to burning animals, nothing is spared. The ground has more tracks in it, but these are different. Carl looks closely at the dirt; he smells drops of oil mixed in with the soil. Shelia dances and spins around in front of Carl. He almost laughs until she looks at him.

She says, "So, when did she lie to you?"

Carl replies, "What do you mean?"

Shelia spins forward to him and repeats, "When did she lie to you? Was it before the kiss or after she locked her lips with yours?"

Carl backs up and answers coldly, "She caught me off guard. That was not supposed to happen."

She curiously says, "Yet, it did happen. So, tell me. Why did you believe her story?"

Before Carl can answer, a com alert comes to him about the arrival of the tau. He looks back at Shelia to see her move back gracefully.

She adds, "It is easy to hear the words of someone who is truthful. It is annoying to hear words of another who wishes you to be something else."

Carl watches her leap away and scratches his head in confusion.

He thought, _"What in the name of the Emperor is going on?"_

A noise is heard in the distance; it is loud and powerful. Carl orders his men and women to get ready for an ork encounter. The noise becomes louder. Everyone loads their lasrifle and stands ready; they all hear the same familiar noise of the orks. The green tide is coming and more blood must be spilled. Carl and his company of soldiers look out into the land only to see the rampaging beasts on vehicles of speed. An ork nob roars and fires random shots at the soldiers. They all take cover. Carl looks up to see more speed freaks coming at them; he shouts for his company to break off and disappear into the tall brushes. Many take cover by a tree or hit the dirt. A mob of twenty-five speed freaks come rushing at them. With one mighty cry on both sides, the orks and imperial army engage each other.

Carl shouts, "Hit em hard!"

The ork nob roars, "Run em down!"

The imperial army fires their weapons, "For the imperium of man!"

The mobs of speed freaks charge at them, "Waaaaagh!"

The lasrifles tear away at a few ork vehicles as the speed freaks stumble to the ground in flames. Many guardsmen and guardians die from gun fire or become wounded; Carl fires and ducks off to the side of a strong tree. He tries to order others to do so, but he sees many of them drove over. A handful of troops take cover and keep their head down. They all fire and shoot where they can. The ork speed freaks are relentless; the ork nob looks at Carl. This is his moment. He steps from around the tree and fires, but the lasrifle is out of power.

Carl looks at the ork nob roaring, "Shit! By the Emperor…"

A light blue beam of energy flies by him and smacks the ork in the face. Carl looks back to see the tau fire warriors joining them and helping out. Carl looks to see an ork come charging at him, but he gets tackled to the ground. He looks up to see Suu taking aim and firing at the ork. She pulls him and hands him a new rifle. Carl looks at the weapon to see it is similar to an imperial lasrifle. The only difference is it was crafted by tau hands.

Suu shouts, "Do not wait! Open fire!"

They remaining guardsmen and guardians add their firepower with the tau fire warriors as they gun down the orks. Many more speed freaks come, but they retreat once the barrage of fire is too strong for them to drive near. As the orks fall back, Carl looks around to see the damage done to his first company. Many are dead and many more are too injured to fight. He tries to issue an order only to be slapped by Suu.

He looks to her with eyes of rage, "What the hell was that for?!"

Suu shows annoyance and irritation, "You should've have waited for me instead of rushing off like that. You would have lost less people if we did it together. The best way to deal with speed freak orks is to not give them an open field. I urge you to be remember this from now on."

Carl approaches her with his rage in check, "And are you an imperial officer of the humanity? Since when did you command me?"

Before she replies, they both realize the amount of attention on them.

He says, "Next time, ask me or tell me. Do not ever raise your hand to me ever again."

Suu apologies and says, "I didn't mean to upset you, but I was worried about you."

Carl alerts his troops to expect wounded coming. Instead of marching into the land further, he agrees with the idea. If more speed freak orks are driving around, then anything done by foot is out of the question. Carl and Suu take their companies back to the defensive base. Upon arriving, they hear the commotion around the area. Carl and Suu rush to find Shelia in the middle of it. The harlequin champion and her eldar warriors find the tau aiming guns at them; the imperial soldiers look on and stand by. Carl calls to them.

Suu looks to Shelia, "Where were you at, eldar dancing witch? If you are here to help us, then do so. Otherwise, keep yourself from the area."

Shelia laughs and looks at Suu, "You dare order me around, child? You would do well to mind your words instead of trying to provoke my wrath."

Carl steps in between the two, "The orks are coming back on their vehicles. If you two want to fight it out later, do it on your own time. I got wounded to help and orks to kill."

Having finished his sentence, a loud noise is heard. The tau and imperial forces scramble to their weapons and look out into the distant area. It is a horrifying view to see. The green orks rode the bikes with pure aggression. As everyone braces for the orks to attack, the green beasts surprise them. Outside of the base, the orks ride around in a large circle. Many guardsmen and guardians open fire at the beasts. A few die and go crashing down, but they continue to arrive. Many soldiers take cover behind the walls and barricades. Carl keeps his head low and looks around. The tau open fire and keep their heads low as well. With very few ideas, Carl does the unthinkable. He leaps over the edge and runs out into the open. An ork sees him, but he is ready. Suu looks to see Carl being reckless.

The ork charges at him. Instead of waiting, he activates his jet pack for a boost. The idea works and he manages to kick the ork off the bike. With a shot to the head, the next ork comes at him. He attempts the method once more; this time he throws his combat knife at the ork. The attempt is successful. The ork falls from his bike only for it to slam into another ork. Two orks come at Carl with the idea to slash at him. He launches into the air and dodges the attacks. After he lands back on the ground, Carl pulls a smoke grenade from his harness. He throws it ahead of him. The orks come at him again only to be taken by surprise; Carl uses the smoke to do another unthinkable attack. He runs at them and leaps in the air with a boost from the jet pack. He grabs on the ork as he fights to keep himself on the bike. The ork grips his throat and throws him down to the soil. He looks at the ork and shows him what is in his hand; the ork looks down to find a grenade stuck in his bike. Before he can get it, the ork slams into three others. The grenade goes off and causes a reaction to continue. A piece of metal pierces an ork in the head and cause him to fire blindly. The blind ork fires at the other orks and cause them to slam into others; Carl takes cover behind the walls. The guardsmen and guardians cheer for the victory, but the battle will continue.

As Carl orders his companies to continue fortifying the base, he sees Suu off in the distance. She looks in his direction and ignores him. Once everything slows down, Carl heads back to his command hub. He goes over his reports only to be pulled away from them. He finds Suu annoyed with him.

She says, "Why did you risk yourself? You could have died."

Carl confusingly replies, "I risk my life for the greatness of the Imperium of Man. I don't understand how me doing less or not taking risks…"

Suu press against him and grips his hands; Carl slowly becomes irritated until she speaks differently.

Suu says, "I don't want you to be in danger any more. I…I can't lose you."

Carl pulls back and replies, "Look, this is not going to work Suu. If I am to obtain victory in battle, then I have to risk my life to see that mankind has achieved its dream. You serve the tau the same way I serve the imperium. Both of us seek a great empire made on the pile of our dead enemies. Though you agree to fight at our side, the imperium will never accept your ideology of living. As for us, we…"

He stops his speech as she moves close to him. Carl tries to reach for his sword only to feel her hand wrap around his hand. She sighs heavily and leans on him.

She says, "Then, promise me you will give me what I desire from you."

Carl feels his heart racing and his thoughts twisting. Suu looks up into his eyes and smiles at him with hope. She moves in to kiss him only for a radio to go off.

He thought, _"Please, let it be Lucas or Lina with an important assignment."_

The radio broadcasts, "This is Lucas Turner. The orks are pressing in at the fortress. All forward bases are to converge on these coordinates. Your commanding officer will be Major Carl Biggs."

To hear the new orders makes Carl question his situation. The radio goes silent and Suu continues to look into his eyes.

He says, "I have my orders and more soldiers will be here soon. If you desire anything from me, it will never happen."

Suu holds and rubs his hands; she continues to hope that things will be peaceful.

She says, "I want you to know that I will wait. For now, please be safe."

She pulls away from Carl with her blushing eyes revealing how much she adores, admires, and desires him. Carl watches her leave and continues to wonder what is going through her head.

He thought, _"First, she sees her company die by human hands. Then, she is raped by various humans for a long time. Yet, she still wants me to be with her unconditionally despite our status. Why is she so…beautiful?"_

Carl finds himself lost in thought and words; he shakes off his unholy thoughts and continues to manage his companies as more of them gather at his location. The war against the orks will continue.

**Chapter 1: Section 1 – 4**

The ork rips this one in half; the orks clobber a group of humans to death. Many more are shot from the shoota groups. The orks take no prisoners and keep pushing in; the imperial guard fire a barrage of lasrifle rounds at a mob. A handful of imperial guardians slay various ork nobs with ease regardless of the pain they are given. The groups of imperial soldiers continue to fight on bravely with their mind focused on survival. The losses would be great for the imperial army, but the tau forces continue to keep the pressure on the orks. Kroot warriors bite down on the neck of orks. Kroot packs feast on the bodies of the smart orks; the packs of ogryns smash and head-butt any green skin down with ease. A few BONE Ead ogryns unleash a barrage of heavy firepower until the gun goes dry.

One BONE Ead says, "Watch me do dis here!"

He head-butts an ork and clobbers five orks with ease. The lesser ogryns follow in the same manner and push back the ork line. A few riflemen from the skitarii take random shots from long range and keep moving. Every bullet cripples the enemy by the arm or leg; the shots are random and unexpected. A few skitarii squads fight along the tau fire warriors yet secretly study the pulse rifles they use. Though technology of xenos is forbid, many look for ways to break the rifle with a single shot. Lucas sends his orders out far and wide as he takes to the front line; Lina supports him with her instructs being sent to various tech teams.

Lucas says, "Those battle tanks have done enough. Pull back the second tank teams and make room for firth and third company. The tech teams will ease the machine spirit and get them back into the fight. All imperial guard soldiers are to pull the injured back. Tenth company will reinforce the front lines with imperial guardians. Make sure the War Harbinger is raining fire on the enemy when possible."

Lina adds, "Tech medics are to aid the wounded. Any critically patients are to be moved into the fortress near the command center. Second and fourth skitarii squads are push up near the front lines with the imperial guard and imperial guardians. Any useful scrap will be collected at the end of the battle. Focus on the enemy."

She looks out into the distance to see a set of gun fire coming at them. Lina activates her extended arms to form the shield around herself and Lucas. The appearance catches the eyes of many. A few tech-priest cheer and give praise to Lina as the next voice for the Great Omnissiah of the machine spirit. Though many believe she is, Lina easily disregards the words and continues to remind everyone that she is here to fight as one of them. A few soldiers bow their head to Lucas and declare him the next Lord Solar; however, he continues to lecture his men that they are alive thanks to their own will to survive. After the two arrive at the front, they study the reports given to them. They come to find Commander Shas'O Kais waiting near his fire warriors; the orks have given them a moment to breathe.

Lucas calls to him, "I see you are here. The ork brutes are ready for more."

Kais turns to Lucas, "Yes, it would seem that breaking their morale is impossible this time."

Before any more words are exchanged, Aun El Rai is seen walking towards them. Lucas is surprised to see the _'great'_ ethereal down in the dirt with them. Kais is worried and obedient; many other tau warriors and kroot fighters bow as the ethereal joins them.

Aun El Rai says, "So, this is why your men follow you so greatly. Even when I walked among your kind hidden, they all talk of Lord General Militant Turner as the next face of the imperium. You stand with your soldiers and will fight against the odds even when death is in front of your face. I must see it myself."

Kais replies demandingly, "You are to not even be here with us. The orks will surely kill you and use your body as a flag. This is not your place, Aun El. Return back to the tower and keep yourself safe."

El Rai looks to him commander, "Lord General Militant Turner is risking his own life to fight and die by his soldiers. He shows no want in retreating and does not fear the orks so easily; this is what it means to be a true hero to your empire yet they do not speak highly of his actions. If I am to be remembered, I want to fight and suffer any injury as any of you would. I come to the front to fight for my empire. I will not be left in some ship or tower, Commander Kais."

Lucas looks on and laughs, "You may regret that if you are seen missing an arm or leg thanks to the orks."

Lina calls to everyone and reports: "There is a large concentration of orks coming. They seem to be approaching from all around the south landscape."

Lucas and Kais join her with Aun El Rai following closely. The monitors show red everywhere. With the orks now pressing in, Lucas takes to the front and orders everyone to be ready. Kais takes to a high position around the area and keeps all channels open for any signs of danger. The ground shakes and rumbles; the size of the orks frighten everyone. Aun El Rai looks at the massive green horde. If there is one thing he despises more than anything, it is how useless the orks are. Nothing can be understood by their actions. All they care for is another fight and another war after another skirmish. Aun El Rai walks forward with his staff in hand; he moves pass the others just a few feet ahead. With his head looking down and hands gripping the staff, the ethereal suddenly gazes quickly at the orks. To the surprise of everyone, a large massive energy blast erupts from the center of the ork mobs. Many are killed and throw everyone around the land. Lucas and Lina are struck beyond belief. Commander Shas'O Kais worries that El Rai is too exposed to gun fire. Once his deed is done and the orks are left dumbstruck by what happen, the advantage appears to all.

Aun El Rai turns to his people, "For the Greater Good!"

A group of kroot and fire warriors join El Rai as he leads the charge into the orks. Before he gets far, Lucas request firing support from the War Harbinger. Lucas looks to his soldiers and rallies them with pride.

Lucas raises his sword up, "For the Imperium of Man!"

The voices of men and women are heard from behind his back as Aun El Rai sees Lucas leading his men proudly. The cannon fire from the War Harbinger causes the ork lines to break more. El Rai and Lucas join together at the front of their army; they lead the forces into the orks. Lina and Kais follow up with the additional forces to support their able body leaders. The orks try to gain up on the tau and humans. Every attempt to overpower them is met with strong resistance. It didn't take long until flickering lights of web way portals open around the carnage. The eldar leap out from the portals with Kayleth and Veldoran leading them; warlocks burn and shock the ork mobs back with ease. The howling banshees slash and cut away at the orks with kroot fighters joining them. In minutes, the orks find their attack on the fortress worthless to continue. As they retreat, Lucas orders his soldiers to fall back.

Aun El Rai comes to him, "Why do you not purse the orks?"

Lucas replies, "There is something else going on. The orks would have kept fighting, but they all left too easily."

Lina walks over with her scans picking up activity all around the land.

She says, "The orks left far into the west. Instead of following them, we can use this time to focus on defense. I'm surprise the eldar decided to help us."

Commander Shas'O Kais reports: "If the orks are going to return, I advise us to be ready for them."

Lucas and Lina send out the orders for base fortifications; the eldar disappear as fast as they came. With no real interest in helping either of their allies, they mostly keep to their own affairs. With the loss of farseer Elenwe, everything seems different. In the east area of the land just two miles from the imperial-tau fortress, the eldar of Alaitoc continue their daily practices and ways of living. Kayleth finds herself at peace with the small success, but there are still many unanswered questions.

She says, "Veldoran, what news have you discovered among the human-tau alliance?"

He says, "There is nothing new with them. For now, both sides share a large portion of land for them to grow from. I have not seen Shelia since her departure to join Carl. Do you believe she is searching for anything that can help us?"

Kayleth sighs, "No, but she is keeping a watchful eye out for anything that will be of great importance to us. With Elenwe no longer among us, we will do what we can to make sure our journey home will be achieved."

Kayleth looks over at the wraithseer. At the center of the core, the spirit stone of Elenwe is missing. Many eldar still hope and pray that she will come back to them. As the eldar watch over the area, many take the time to enjoy the beauty of the land. The touch of the grass on their feet is soothing; the trees producing fruit gives them a calm feeling. With no orks coming to them, many want to call this place home. For now, Kayleth would do all that she can to ensure their return back to the Milk Way. Suddenly, a ripple in the warp is heard. All the eldar look around. The warp circles around the area. Kayleth and Veldoran rush to focus on the source, but the warp makes them unbalanced. The ripple in the warp stops and they all hear a voice.

The voice says, _"Take heed, eldar of Alaitoc. A new face will join you once we are one with each other."_

The voice leaves the area. Kayleth and Veldoran quickly take counsel with their eldar captains and leaders.

Kayleth says, "Hear me now, my kin. We all heard a voice come to us and know nothing of this person. It can be a trap to snare us. For now, I will go to the humans to parley with them. Remain here and wait for my return."

Veldoran stops her, "If this is a poor attempt to ask for their help, they will not give it since we have been evasive."

She replies, "We heard a voice familiar to us. It could be a trap, but I don't want to risk my own kin for this. The humans can help us if we encounter any danger."

Unwilling to let her go to the humans, Veldoran persuades Kayleth to remain at the base while he attempts to gain their help. He opens a web way portal near the base. It didn't take him long to be discovered by the tau defense system. Once found, he requests an audience with Lucas and Aun El Rai. The soldiers escort the great enchanter to the pair; Veldoran finds Lucas standing next to Aun El Rai. Though Lucas is willing to listen, Rai looks on with a firm appearance.

Lucas opens the conversation, "You are really bold to be here asking for me. I take it you must be here for a reason?"

Veldoran answers, "Something has come up, but we seek additional support from you to help us look into the matter."

Aun El Rai steps forward with guns aimed at Veldoran.

He says, "Your kind has been less involved with our battles against the orks. Now you wish for us to assist you when it is convenient? Give me a reason to trust your words."

Veldoran steps to the ethereal, "Watch your tongue, young child. You may have won a few skirmishes against the orks, but I have more years of war than you will. I only seek some assistance from the imperial leader Lucas. You may sit your…"

Lucas interrupts, "Enough, both of you! I will lend you only a small company to help you with your tasks. For now, we will be here repairing and building the fortress up more. If you truly desire help, you will have to get Carl. He is still at his forward base in the south west region. If he can help, he will. If not, you are on your own."

Aun El Rai adds, "And Suu will be only available to you if she can help. For now, we are busy."

Lucas walks back to his command hub with Aun El Rai taking his escort back to the tau tower. Veldoran sighs at the attempt to gain help, but he takes what he will get. He returns to Kayleth to deliver the news. She urges Veldoran to find Shelia and pass the information onto her. In the south region, the commotion between tau and human are active. Carl stands at the command center trying to keep the orders simple before they move out against the speed freak orks. Suu helps him as best as she can though he prefers her to keep a healthy distance. With the orks now showing a new method of attacks on the alliance, every order coming to Carl had to be altered greatly.

Carl says, "I understand we are getting the few stragglers from other areas in the south, but all their activities must be changed. The first group must put aside their resource gathering for now until we pin point the orks location. Any attempt to gather out in the open field can end badly. My next two companies must readjust their weapons to damage the vehicles driven by the orks. It will save us more ammo for the others we find later on. Everyone is to keep up with their patrols and pay close attention to any noise coming at us. I want mission and scout reports by the hour. Under no circumstance is anyone to engage the orks unless no choice is given."

Suu keeps her orders simple and adds, "For every imperial patrol that goes out, be sure to shadow their movements. Make sure you all return alive and keep your traveling short. Carl and I will be watching for any signs of trouble should the worse happen."

As the officers take their new orders, Carl finds Suu focused on her work. He makes an occasional glance in her direction only to remind himself of the orks in the area. Suu looks at Carl and admires how well he manages to handle multiple orders and issues. The tasks of patrolling the area is annoying; the issue of morale is increasing. Despite how close he is working with her, Suu sees him reassure the soldiers that all is not over. Once the work is done, Suu calls to him.

She says, "I enjoy seeing you work. You keep the companies at peace. Does it bother you to work so close to us?"

Carl replies, "I can deal with the small morale issues later. For now, we have the orks to face. We'll stop them together as a unified front."

Suu blushes at the words _"We"_ as though it is her first time hearing them. With the alliance still functioning, a new day begins with a surprise for them. Carl and Suu begin to head further out only to be approached by Shelia of the harlequin.

**Chapter 1: Section 1 – 5**

"_We heard a voice through the warp. It spoke of meeting with us soon, but we know not from where. We ask that you journey further into the land and find this voice with us. It sounds too pure to be evil, but we will not be fools to the honeyed words. I, a Harlequin Champion of Cegorach, ask that you join me in this search. The eldar may have no need of your words and wisdom; however, we do acquire your weapons to aid us. The voice must be found."_

As Carl takes in the information told to him by Shelia, Suu stands firm and unyielding. Her belief in the words only breathe a lie.

Suu says, "Why would you dare speak to us for help? I thought the eldar stand alone and need no help."

Shelia grips her blade and replies, "You know nothing of what we hear in the warp, child of the tau. Keep your woman back, Carl. Must I make her a fool before her kind?"

Annoyed with the issues between the tau and eldar, Carl does what he has seen others do before. He fires his weapon at the ground.

Carl says, "I don't care what your issues are nor what you both have to say. I will come with you Shelia to find this voice, but this had better be worth the trip. We still have the orks to deal with. I hope you remember that the Sons of Malice are involved in this too. So, this voice better be something. We will move out in two hours; I pray you are not leading us somewhere pointless."

With his words given, Carl takes a moment to be alone. He gears up his weapons only to find Suu standing near him. He continues as she calls to him.

She says, "Why are you helping the sneaky eldar? They have been less active with us and more prone to keep their secrets hidden? They lied to you and your leaders about returning home thus trapping you here. Even my ethereal and commander have lead my friends here to be unable to return back home. The eldar are unworthy of anything, but the need to keep their own people alive. Why do you continue to help them?"

Carl slams his gun down in rage and turns to her, "As far as I am concern, if they have plans for their own, so be it. We are letting them do what they can and only helping when we can. For now, instead of trying to draw out a pointless conversation, why don't you help? Yes, this is something for their own personal gain. This also means we can possibly lose more of our friends and teams. The only difference between us and them is what we believe in. And a long time ago, a friend of mines showed me that even when we were used by the eldar, we stay to our belief and continue our cause."

Suu lowers her eyes and replies, "Are you doing this because you believe in them, or to avoid staying here where it is safe?"

He sighs as he leaves out the door. Suu stops Carl until he gives her an answer.

"I am doing this because I believe that anything they find can help us," he said. Carl continues, "I don't have much faith right now in what is going on, but I do believe this much. Max can't be found. Lucas and Lina are doing what they can to continue to keep this regiment going. We are trapped in a new galaxy with eldar, tau, and orks. So, I really have no choice. I can sit here and complain about the situation or rise up. Which one will you do?"

Suu touches his face; Carl finds himself slightly relaxed more.

She says, "I just want you to be safe. If you go, I will follow you."

With their objective known, the tau and imperial army would accompany the eldar to the source of the voice. Instead of traveling by foot, the imperial army are given a new ship to help scout the land. High above their head, the medium size ship floats with ease. The ship holds five hundred people; Carl orders the soldiers to climb aboard the shuttles for lift off. Suu rallies and urges her troops to join them. Despite the few eldar that join them, everyone agrees to share what they have. Once everyone is aboard, the ship slowly guides itself. Carl locates the main console and contacts Lucas about the situation. The screen pulls up Lucas and Lina.

Carl says, "Lord General Turner, I take it the usual idea from the eldar was given to you as well? And to the Blessed Techno Woman, thanks for sending us this. We could've went by land, but this helps a lot."

Lucas replies, "Yes, the enchanter Veldoran claims the eldar heard a voice in the ripples of the warp. They don't know from where, but they request for us to help them find it. If anything comes up, you know what you must do. As for the ship, Lina thought it was a good idea for you to use it. It isn't space travel, but it can take you above orbit. I'll let her fill you in on the details of the ship. For now, help the eldar and watch out for the orks."

Lina takes over the console and anxiously replies, "The ship you are on is only a small assault recon transport. It can handle a lot of damage, but it is mostly something you can use for stealth. The ship can hold up to six-hundred people, but there is more that can be added on later. The weapon system is highly upgraded; it can cripple a larger ship and evade more than the War Harbinger. My tech teams have vastly given the ship an advantage on the need for base deployment. The ship can help you set up in minutes and you will have defenses ready. Any additional feedback will come to us once you begin the next few battles."

With the console going silent and the data stream showing him everything, Carl takes a moment to see what the new recon ship would offer. He takes notice that the ship is only housing three level. The top level has the bridge for the pilots, data center, and additional monitors; the first level even has a small resting zone for the captain and half of the staff. The second level houses all the medical, cafeteria, and personal rooms for the soldiers. Lastly, the final level of the ship keeps the smaller vehicles, weapons, and armor ready. With his hands full on reading, Carl does what he can to remember what the ship can do. As the ship drifts around the land, the tau and humans do what they can to be ready for any surprise. They work together to monitor the system and explore the new features of the ship. Suu keeps her troops active and advises them to understand the technology if any can be applied to the Great Spear. Shelia and her few eldar take to the lower deck. They meditate and isolate themselves from the others.

As the air continues to twist and bend, the cracking sound slowly continues. There is another loud snap; it is heard as the warp shield breaks and slowly repairs. The worrying continues every day she stands there. The large hands from the warp are beginning to bleed, but the pain doesn't stop them from holding. She looks on with more concern. Though her power is great, the person she now looks at is getting too strong for the warp spells. She goes over to him and looks at the cracks in the warp shield and hands. Each opening is still slowly repairing; her hand slides along the open space. Suddenly, a strong warp blast extends out and throws her back. She quickly gets up only to see the energy slowly twist more around him. She turns to find him standing there gripping his staff hard.

Balrok says, "This is not what I anticipated. The more the warp continues to hold him, the more it continues to go further out. I must use more of my power to keep him asleep."

The silent woman questions his choice, "If you continue to use your power on him, I fear your time will expire in this life. We still have the imperial army, the eldar, and the tau forces to deal with. If you face them when your power is at its weakest, you will be at their mercy. Your choice for keeping him here is slowly weakening you. Continue with your plan. If I must, I will use my life force to keep him here."

Balrok walks over and look at Max, "He is becoming a problem each time the warp spells are weaker. I will need to retake some of the warp from the spells."

Balrok slowly pulls the warp from Max only to feel his power disappear. The experience is painful for him; he falls back from Max. The silent woman looks back at Max to see another warp wave shoot out from him.

She says, "That did not help you. He is still taking in the warp, but it is only disappearing."

Balrok roars in anger, "No! This can't be! How can this be?!"

To both of their surprise, Max moves his arm slightly. Though the warp spells are holding him, he easy shifts his weight like he is resting on a bed. The idea of him waking up frightens them more.

He says, "I will make the next preparations ready for our guests; I will first get the orks to do my bidding. The rest will begin once it is done."

Once he leaves, she looks back at Max. No signs of damage or pain are visible; he floats in the air calmly as he feels no harm.

She thought, _"What are you?"_

In the distant land, he continues to modify and increase the devices on his body. The lone tech marine continues to find ways to keep himself mobile, but his time is short. He realizes that without proper rites, he would soon be worthless and at the mercy of anyone. Though the orks are leaving behind scraps for him to collect and use, it is barely enough. He continues to move further away from ork parties. High in the sky, Carl monitors the screens. With no sign of orks in the area, he goes to find Shelia. He comes across Suu as he travels to the deck three.

He says, "I take it you are done with your orders and want more of my time?"

Suu answers, "No, I am curious about our guests aboard the ship. They want us to help them locate a voice for some reason. Where were they at when the orks attacked us? I find this agreement with the eldar a waste of time."

Carl replies, "The eldar are going through a difficult time, but they have their own reasons for not being there. For now, we will help them. I just want to know more about this tasks Veldoran gave to Shelia. Why are you coming with me?"

She adjusts her handgun, "I am making sure the tasks the eldar have for us is worth pursuing. My ethereal and commander didn't seem too keen on us helping them."

As the pair continue heading over towards the lower deck, orders from others come to them. Each task or issue is quickly taken care of. Before they speak with Shelia about the mission, Carl grabs Suu by the arm. Though he tries to be demanding, he sees her blush more than she should.

He says, "We are here to find out what she knows if anything. So, I will ask and you are not to push the issues."

Suu smiles but coldly replies, "I will be doing what is best for us. If the eldar are here to help us, they must prove it."

Carl continues to ignore her words of sweetness. They come to find the eldar resting near the edge of the ship's opening. Shelia leaps from the top of a chimera and dances before their eyes. Carl tries to greet her only for Suu to keep the business at hand professional than friendly.

She says, "You must know something about why you were given your assignment. Carl and I want to know if your masters told you anything."

He shoots her a mean look, but Shelia chuckles, "I see. You and him are now joined together. Why didn't you tell me Carl? I could've given you more than a few words of praise."

Carl backs up with disgust, "How did me and her become your focus? We are here to know if Veldoran told you anything about the task."

Shelia stands at peace and removes her mask; she looks as beautiful as before.

She says, "I was only told what they know of. The eldar heard a whisper in the warp thanks to the ripples. We have no exact idea on where to do; however, they trust me to find out where the voice comes from. If it is a trap, we will be ready. If it is not, then it is what I believe it to be."

Suu tries to speak, but Carl says, "Thanks for sharing, but do you have any idea of where we must go?"

Shelia smirks and answers, "We are going in the right direction. I can feel the air is slightly different. It will be hot with a strong wind."

Suu asks, "How do you know?"

Instead of replying, Shelia and her kin leap through web way portals. Unsure as to what happen, Carl and Suu look around the area. The ship comes to a new area. Before any scans of the surface can be done, the temperature gauge increase. It is hot; the air is as hot as one-hundred and five degrees. Carl sends out a general order for everyone to dress light. He returns back to his own private quarters to switch his attire. Suu follows him closely.

He says, "Well, I believe Shelia was right about this. The area is much hotter than before."

Suu adds, "She must know something else. How else can she know that the area was going to be hot?"

Carl agrees that more is being kept from them. For now, they would wait until they are on the ground. The ship comes to a stop; everyone begins switching to lighter clothes and bringing plenty of water to drink. The tau watch the imperial soldiers convert a chimera vehicle into a large water truck. Carl looks for the best combat suit for the trip to the ground; he looks to find Suu at his door with a concern look on her face.

He says, "Why the sad look?"

Suu says, "I hope I wasn't too unjust with asking Shelia questions. I only want us to prevail."

Carl chuckles and sighs, "You are only being you. Right now, you did bring up an interesting question. How did she know that the area we are going to would be hot? For now, I will trust Shelia until she proves too dangerous for us. And you will try to as well."

He takes off his shirt and removes his heavy gear. Suu removes any heavy pieces of equipment from her armor. Carl didn't pay her any mind as he puts on light armor. They both didn't understand how Shelia knew the area would be hot. As the trio continue the tasks, Lucas and Lina continue to keep the soldiers motivated and ready. The imperial citizens and army greatly continue to improve defenses despite the shortage of rest many take. In the tower on the other side of the land, Aun El Rai continues to let his voice ring proudly over the communications as he urges all tau citizens and military that the greater good will endure. Commander Shas'O Kais stands proud and glad, but he always keeps an eye out for the relentless orks. In the eldar base, Veldoran watches and waits. Kayleth keeps her mind focus and prays that what the eldar heard is not a trap.

She thought, _"Please, we need a sign that we will survive this."_

**(Hello, this is Big Boss Pugh taking a much needed break from all the typing I have done for this short series. Rest assure, this is going to have an end. When, I can't say. For now, enjoy and leave your reviews. Have a great day.)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Dawn of War: Where They Belong**

_There are secrets hidden in the galaxy and within the warp that can never be told to any person, group, or civilization. Each secret is too great and important. A lot of secrets deserve to be hidden; many secrets must be forgotten. Only a handful of them must never be spoken._

**Chapter 2: Section 2 – 1**

The waves rise up as the air is hot; it leaves them drinking more water with every three miles they travel. Despite how far they go, every man and woman moves on with the idea of what to find in one of the hottest places on the planet. The traveling by foot takes them fifteen miles out into the scorching heat. Though the humans are fair with enduring the heat, they stop often for the tau to recondition themselves. At the front of the army, he looks on with his clothes soaking in sweat and pride. He feels alive knowing that no enemy force is attacking his teams. He looks down to his side and pulls out his canister; he opens it and takes a long drink of the water from it. Some rustling is occurring behind his back. He turns about to find her struggling to withstand the heat of one-hundred and one degrees. She looks sweet and alluring in her light armor; the sweat rolling from her face is shining. Each time she exhales is wonderful. He nearly forgets that she is of the tau. Instead of watching her so much, he offers her the canister and gives her a drink. With fast hands, she drinks the water down with no pause and empties the entire canister in less than a minute.

Carl says, "You must have been thirsty to empty out my entire reserve water. I suppose you will want two of those for when we get closer to the destination?"

Suu tries to hand him back the canister only for Carl to decline.

She says, "Thank you for the water. It is hotter than usual as of today. How can you endure this?"

He answers, "First, you can keep the canister since your lips were the last to be on it. I don't want nothing from you after you had it. Second, humanity in ancient times can withstand degrees of heat that range from one-hundred to one hundred and five. So, this is nothing for us. It allows us to sweat away any stress and take in the fact that we can endure this. What about you? Is this your first time experiencing something hot?"

Suu stands up straight with her features catching Carl's eyes. He is impressed.

She says, "On my home world, the hottest was only eighty degrees. It never went any higher than that. I am trying to get use to this, but I should have brought more loose attire."

Carl turns his sight away from her to keep on looking ahead. He can only see a mirage of water that constantly invites him over and over again. For all he knows, the mirage of water is the influence of the dark ones. After enough time has gone by, the two factions resume their journey. After another hour of traveling, the factions are surprised by the eldar. Though the humans didn't mind the sudden appearance, many tau fire warriors are quick to raise their weapons. Shelia dances and twirls before Carl with a message.

She says, "We are near, but I sense something else in the air. It calls to me and continues to whisper. I hope you are ready for anything."

The eldar stand ready and willing. Suu orders her kroot and fire warriors to be ready; Carl instructs his companies to have a small camp set up. In a short time, a noise is heard. A pack of orks rush upon them. The group is small and not effective; it didn't take long for the orks to die from a wave of gunfire. After the factions are ready for another wave, they discover no orks are coming to them. Nothing is attacking them but the heat in the air. The ship stays above the camp and provides long range scans. No heat signatures detect. As the teams allow themselves to wait until night fall, they take a moment to keep their eyes alert for any unusual threats. Shelia keeps her kin entertained for what is to come. The imperial squads watch and applaud her display of tales through her words. Only the tau and kroot keep to their own; none of them show a single interest in the stories of eldar activity. Carl observes his monitor and keeps track of the heat readings. It didn't take long before he hears her voice and feels her tapping his shoulder.

Suu says, "I don't believe there is anything out here. This is a waste of our time. Shelia is leading us to nothing. Only the heat is comforting us."

Carl disagrees, "We are here doing what we can. I am sure we will find what they need and return soon."

She leans against him and feels at ease. Carl gently pushes her off and reminds Suu that they are on a mission. To his surprise, she wraps her arms around him with exhales. Carl tries his best to remember why any xeno species are a threat. She lowers her arms near his waist; he leaps from her grip only to see her smile.

Suu says, "If I knew we were going into a hot zone, I would have brought more fluid from the base to keep us going. This trip out here better be worth the sweat and time we are wasting to help them."

Carl takes a notice to Suu's attitude and how she reacts to the eldar.

He says, "You seem to have made up your mind about them. Do you really believe they are wasting our time coming out this way?"

She answers, "Carl, this is pointless. The eldar have been less willing to help us and are constantly hidden away from us. They may have helped your kind before in the past, but now I see no point in continuing an alliance with them."

Before Carl can speak on the matter, Shelia surprises them and twists in front of them.

She says, "I see you have spent more time with Carl. I wonder how many times she has tried to win you over. Care to share a tale with me, Carl?"

Suu stands before Shelia with a fierce look in her eyes. Carl watches and holds his tongue.

Suu says, "You need to be more focused on your own task than wondering about our time spent to together. Last I recall, you are out here to find something that is calling you. It would be wise for you to hurry up your search."

Carl steps in between the two. Suu is surprised while Shelia is anxious.

He says, "That is enough. We need to move out now before the heat gets to us all."

Suu backs off and agrees to the idea of moving forward. Carl turns to Shelia.

Shelia asks, "And why did you interfere?"

He replies, "She may have let the heat get to her, but I saw your hand ready to move. All you were waiting for is her hand to make contact with you anywhere."

The surprise attempt of Shelia is quickly covered with shock and amazement. She swears that her idea didn't come to thought. Carl looks at her with untrustworthy eyes. Shelia slowly cracks a smile, but she promises to keep her weapons only handy for the enemy only. With the issue put on hold, the groups continue their travel at night. They all continue to keep heading in the direction the eldar guide them. The air is cool on their skin. It is hot during the day time, but relaxing during the night. The perfect temperature keeps morale on a stable level. Carl looks on to see his companies are getting along well with the tau and kroot warriors. It is amazing to see them more open about their duty with the xenos. Granted, the imperial forces and eldar have been together longer, the tau army makes up for it in a short amount of time.

After a decent travel, the army comes to a halt. Carl allows everyone time to rest up for the next few hours. He takes a look to the area just ahead. It is an open field with hardly any places to hide. Many hills and tall mountains are visible; the view is rather relaxing and beautiful. Carl looks at his communicator for the time. It is still early in the night. He whirls around to see Shelia spinning before his eyes. Every thought tells him to be on guard if she is near, but this is different. With Suu no longer in sight, Carl uses this moment to learn what he can of what is going on.

Carl walks up and says, "I understand you are not here to share secrets with him; all I seek is understanding. What did your leaders learn that exists out here?"

Shelia leaps over his head and dances in an unusual way, "My leader told me to find a voice. Therefore, I seek the one who is out here calling them. The voice is sweet and sounds peaceful. That is all I can share with you. I know your woman looks to you more than you know. She is more misleading than I am."

He says, "For the emperor's sake, this nonsense again. What Suu does is her business, but I assure you that we are not together. And her moment of weakness for me was my own fault for not seeing it coming."

She laughs and adds, "Anything she does with you is between the both of you. Are you sure you are drawn to her as she is to you? What do you see when you look upon her?"

Instead of a reply, Carl ignores and dodges the question. Shelia laughs and leaps away back to her kin. Annoyed with the constant reminder of Suu's affection, Carl finds himself swinging his sword and firing his weapon. He continues to wonder why she wants him so badly after all of the abuse she suffered at the hands of humans. He quiets his rage and thinks hard on what comes next. He returns back to camp to see everyone is alert and nervous. Carl asks what seems to be the issue.

A woman guardian answers, "All of the eldar are looking in one direction. They hear something."

Carl finds Shelia and her kin looking ahead. Before he can ask what is going on, a hand holds him back. Suu stops him from approaching the eldar.

She says, "Something is wrong with the them. Your ally said someone is calling them. We should leave them to their problem and retreat."

Suddenly, a voice comes over the area and all can hear it. The voice is peaceful and loud.

It says, _"You found me after all this time. I didn't expect there to be more of us still alive. Maybe all is not lost for us. Know that we have been here for many centuries and we are the last of what is left. No one was meant to find us here yet you did. Allow us this moment to reveal ourselves to you."_

The open space in front of them begins to take shape. In mere seconds, a portal opens and everyone backs up. The eldar stand calm and relaxed; they are not afraid nor did they fear the voice. Carl and Suu order their troops to back up further. Shelia reaches out to the portal. In seconds, a hand comes out. It didn't take long for before the a few more portals open up and beings step forth from them. To everyone's surprise, they see more eldar step forward; they each wear different attire with colors of either bright or dark. Shelia greets the new eldar with a display of dancing. The others respond in kind until they see the humans and tau. With a gesture of their hand, the eldar and harlequins all disappear from their eyes. Carl spreads his groups out to see if they are able to locate anyone. The tau warriors follow in a similar fashion. There is no trace of the eldar around the area. With nothing else to do, Carl orders his units to head back to the imperial ship. Suu roars greatly and expresses how foolish they have been.

She says, "I should have expected the eldar to not keep their word. They lure us out here only to now leave us when they found more of their kind hiding in the wilderness. They have no honor."

Carl replies, "Well, I am sure they will tell us more later when they are ready to reveal themselves. For now, let's get back to the base and report what we found. This may have been time wasted, but we now know they are up to something."

With everything confusing yet misunderstood, the allies take their armies back to the imperial recon ship. They make sure not to leave anything behind and start on their reports. Once everything is aboard, the ship takes the sky. The imperial guardians, guardsmen, tau warriors, and kroot use this time to think on how the eldar have been acting. Nothing makes sense; in fact, the surprise visit from other eldar still keeps Carl guessing his words. Suu keeps to her unit and whispers a prayer. The eldar have secrets and all would be revealed soon.

**Chapter 2: Section 2 – 2**

The day is full of life as they patrol the streets of the new headquarters. They keep in formation and proudly bear the mark of imperium. The citizens wave and praise the Immortal Emperor for allowing them to see another day. Though they are stranded in a new galaxy, Lord General Militant Turner guides the army accordingly as best as he can. Without his rival to help him manage the imperial affairs, Lucas Turner makes sure that all of his commanding officers are active in every affair. The officers do their daily checks for the barracks, the weapons, the vehicles, and the aircrafts. All the information gathered is sent to the tech teams to be added into their own books. In the technology sector, the Blessed Techno Woman keeps to the ways of knowledge the imperium has instructed. Lina reminds each tech priest, skitarii, engineer, and data analysts that all information is important. Those that work in the field of knowledge always express high interest in learning more of what the new galaxy has to offer. Every scribe is passed and looked over. Each piece of paper is included in digital form. Nothing is too sacred to be shared.

High in the tower on the opposite side of the land, he looks on with great admiration. He is happy to see that the journey to a new galaxy is giving them a chance to grow with new allies. Tau ethereal Aun El Rai welcomes the challenge of problems. He turns to speak with his team. To his right, Commander Shas O Kais stands with the Kroot pack leader. To his left, his civilian advisor and diplomat. They continue to look over the grand plans Rai has for them. Just below the tower, the tau fire warriors continue their own patrol and watch for any signs of danger. The stealth teams take position near the edges of the wall and conceal themselves carefully. The citizens of the tau empire cheer and give praise that every day lets them continue the fight for the greater good. In the far western zone, kroot shaper warriors watch over their young ones and make sure they are properly guided. Though the section is still under construction, it represents the home world Pech of the Kroot. As the two factions continue to monitor and review over the progress, the leaders of the tau and imperium are at a loss for words to explain the actions of the eldar.

In the far east with the base shinning, they swing their blades and strengthen their warp powers. The events of the eldar have never been easy to endure. The spirit stone of Elenwe is gone. Veldoran keeps his powers at rest, but he remains aware of what is going on. Kayleth does what she can to instruct the eldar one staying silent. The eldar do the best they can to keep away from their allies; they left them with no reasons or explanations as to why they are being secretive once again. In time, all would be revealed. The day comes to an end as the sun goes down; however, the eldar still continue to go about their plan. Kayleth, Veldoran, and Shelia gather together and go to greet the representative of the new eldar joining them. She shines brighter than most eldar and didn't reveal much to the others. Once the eldar have taken up their position for the night, the four speak privately.

Veldoran says, "So, you are the voice we heard in the warp as a whisper. Was it you who called us here at the Laughing God's request?"

The eldar woman turns to them and answers, "If I knew Cegorach would be here in a new galaxy, then I would have searched for him to answer some questions. I am here to seek out your wisest farseer among you."

Shelia spins before the eldar and asks, "I find it strange there isn't more of you here in this new galaxy."

Before anyone can answer, her eyes fall on Kayleth. She gasps and approaches her with nervous hands. Kayleth stands firm and wonders what is happening.

She says, "You are shinning yet not so bright as you once were. There is hope for you if the change happens."

Kayleth replies, "What do you speak of? Give us your name and explain what is going on. What craft world do you belong to?"

The woman steps back and smiles, "I belong to the ancient craft world of Ctho. The eldar that follow me are all that remains of that ancient craft world. Long ago, we came here once the War in Heaven was over. Our ancient farseers foretold a doom to our people. So, the few of us fled to a new galaxy over the void of dark space. Once we arrived, everything changed for us. We became brighter than most eldar. Now, we are all that is left. A here hand full of Ctho eldar in this galaxy without any worry. That is until you showed up. Before you came, I looked deep into the future and saw a future that will end badly for us if a ritual is not performed. Without the ritual, our time here in this new galaxy will bring ruin to us. My name is Xi. The ritual requires one that has given more than what life demands. From the ritual, a new person shall take the place among my people and yours. They shall carry the wisdom from this life and the past lives. It must be done in order to save the eldar in this galaxy. The ritual will begin in a few days and the enemy will be here to destroy us. I do not know who seeks our destruction, but they will try. If we have enough time to complete this ritual, there will be hope for the rest of the journey. I seek the help of your farseer."

Kayleth, Veldoran, and Shelia question the method for the ritual, but all Xi does is require their help to complete it. The failure of it is all she guarantees. The trio info Xi of what has become of former farseer Elenwe. To their surprise, Xi smiles and reveals to them a small pendent. It is the spirit stone of farseer Elenwe.

Kayleth asks, "How did you come across her? We lost her once she revived me from the brink of death."

Xi answers, "All will be answered when the ritual is complete. Time is important and we are losing it."

Veldoran advices, "The tau forces have better technology for weapons than what the humans use. They may be effective, but the young tau ethereal can convince his people to fight for us if we show them that this is for the greater good. The concept is not of our own, but they would not mind learning of our knowledge if we share only a little with them."

Shelia replies, "The humans have been more cooperative with us since we met them. If we wish to have allies that will lay down their lives for us, then the humans are the ones that can provide us the support we need. The younglings of the tau are still not ready for what we and the humans face. I pray that they do not do anything reckless to spoil our plans."

Kayleth sighs and calls to them both, "This is not a problem for us. I shall appeal to the tau and humans for support with this. I do not understand why we need to complete this ritual, but there is more to it. Stay here at the camp for now. I shall go to others and inform them."

Veldoran and Shelia agree to stay behind to watch over others. As Kayleth makes her way over to meet with the leaders, a web way portal opens to her side. Xi steps from the portal with a look of concern on her face.

Xi says, "You are not willing to trust me. May I inquire why you do not believe my words?"

Kayleth turns to her, "You are correct. I do not trust you. Your kind is known to my craft world as a lost legend. Now, in this new galaxy, you show up and request that a ritual be completed. I need more than words of promises to be told to me. So, why don't you be more informative of why this must be done?"

Xi steps to Kayleth with nervous hands and feels frighten of her. Kayleth questions her fear and wonders why.

She answers, "I see your spirit is not as bright as it should be. You have been down the path of the dark eldar and not fallen. But, there will be time to explain later. The ritual that must be done will give the eldar here more than just a fighting chance. I speak of this to you as a ray of hope. As one of the last farseers of Ctho, please honor my craft world and allow it to happen. Once the ritual is done, I will explain everything. For now, I shall come with you and meet with your allies. I won't let you stand alone."

Kayleth is slightly glad that Xi is coming with her, but the method of the ritual has to be explained. Xi believes it will give the eldar a fighting chance. With so many unknown futures and Elenwe no longer active, the eldar are lost. Kayleth goes to find the one person who can inform the leaders quickly. He sits in his room thinking of ways to keep on helping the imperium. With Suu wanting more of his time, Carl does anything to stay away from her reach. He looks over the last reports only to hear a knock at his door. Upon opening it, he sees a scout with a surprised look on his face. Once told of the surprise from Kayleth, Carl goes to meet her. It didn't take long before Carl finds Suu ready to have her squad fire upon them.

Suu says, "Your kind is not welcomed here. After all the time we wasted to help you, you don't deserve to be here with us. Go back to you web way portals or whatever you it is you walked from."

Kayleth steps forward and slowly lets her warp flame show. The tau are ready to fire as the imperium guardians and guardsmen watch with anticipation.

She says, "I will ignore your improper attitude, but I will not stand for this much longer. Tell your masters that I wish to speak to them now, or do I need to discipline you for disrespecting your superiors?"

Before Suu and the tau can fire, Carl steps forward and calms everyone. He questions the reason for the need of violence. Kayleth shares the reason with him, but Suu still stands firm with her for why she must insist the eldar are kept away.

Carl asks, "What kind of ritual is this? I do recall the eldar have been on the non-sharing side. Why ask for us to help you?"

Xi steps forward and answers, "This ritual is for the eldar to be safe in the new galaxy. If the enemy were to destroy us, then how can we repay you when it is time. We only require some of your time. In return for helping us, we will be there to help you."

He thinks long and hard about what to say next. Carl agrees to the idea, but he informs Suu that the leaders must be contacted. Regardless of how upset she and the tau leaders will be, everyone must be told of this new surprise. It didn't take long before Kayleth, Carl, Xi, and Suu find themselves standing before the groups. On one side, the tau ethereal stands with his commander. On the other, the imperial leaders wait patiently to hear the words from the slippery eldar. All eyes fall on Kayleth and Xi to explain the reasons for why they are needed. She takes the center floor and the ears lean in to hear her words.

Kayleth says, "I come before you to ask that you aid us in our attempt to perform a ritual for the sake of the eldar. Once the ritual is complete, we will be able to return the favor for you when the time is right. The ritual requires your protection for it to work; we will do the rest and make sure nothing halts this task. I understand that we have not been there to assist you, but I come to you as an ally against the forces of Malice and the orks."

Aun El Rai steps forward, "This is a pointless request. The eldar have been less active and unwilling to be there for the alliance in our last few battles against the orks. Now they seek to use us for their own advantage. Why should we place our armies at your disposal?"

Xi replies, "I remember when your kind was barely but a young species in the galaxy long after the Old Ones and Necrons were gone. Do not speak ill towards someone wiser than you, young child."

Before the meeting turns hectic, Lucas interrupts, "I understand your reasons El Rai. You are not wrong for making them known. The eldar have been not as active as either of our armies have been against the orks. We know nothing of why they are still holding back; your kind has shown us that you came here with us only to be at the side hiding from the enemy. The only thing keeping you in good graces with us is how you have shown us that anything you do, it will benefit us and make things easier. The real question remains: Why should we help you?"

Xi takes the center floor and answers, "I am from the legendary craft world of Ctho. We came here long ago before any of you knew of our existence. Now, I have seen what the future brings if the ritual is performed. The ritual will require one of our own that has given so much to the eldar. Right now, we only have two here. My remaining kin will join with craft world Alaitoc. We need this to be done more than you know. If we are to help you, then you must help us and be willing to share our fate too. There are two forces at work here in this galaxy and we can't face them alone with any help. The orks on this planet will continue to destroy and grow in numbers. They have a large ork gathering in the far distant land. They will come here to fight, but their leader is no fool."

Xi continues, "In one future, I see the orks destroying us all and growing rapidly out of control that no force will be able to withstand them. They are a threat now, but none are as deadly as the others. There is an evil force here; the Laughing God already named one of his champions and retreats back through the web way. Now, we hear a new sound of that hopes the war will continue. In another future, I see the forces of darkness growing and using our war against us and destroying everything from the galaxy we came from. It starts out here, but the end will happen when the galaxy folds on itself. We are the only problem for those who seek this to happen. Right now, our best chance is to turn the tide of battle into our favor. Please, help us with this ritual and we will forever more be in your debt."

Lucas, Lina, El Rai, Shas'O Kais, Suu, Carl and active leaders all question what the eldar have yet to tell them. Before any choice is made, Lucas excuses the eldar from the room; Kayleth and Xi agree to leave them to their own words and private chat. Once the eldar leave, an uproar on both sides shatter the silence. One group supports the idea of helping the eldar, but many tau officials see this as a pointless effort. Carl backs up the supporters and claims that the eldar will honor their word. Suu rallies the idea of using the eldar for technological gains if the eldar are willing to offer something in return. Lina nearly agrees to the idea, but recalls the words of alien technology in the hands of humanity. The debates are long and annoying. Lucas and El Rai break up the gathering and sent everyone about their way. With Carl, Suu, Lucas, Lina, Rai, and Shas'O Kais now completely alone, the final debate begins between the six.

Lucas looks at everyone, "I understand that helping the eldar is not in any of our plans, but we don't have much to go on since Max is not here. I would have liked to hear his words on this. I want to know where you all stand at on this ritual."

Carl and Lina agree to help the eldar due to the past history they share with them; however, Suu and Shas'O Kais disagree with the whole notion of lending any aid to the eldar. Aun El Rai steps forward and finds himself the center of attention.

He says, "To help the eldar is a waste of time. We give them some of our strength before and they do nothing but keep us in the dark. What is to stop them from leaving again? And even if we help them, this ritual they speak of must be more than just a just a way for us to stop the forces of Malice and the old orks of Bone Snappa. I will do what I can to keep the people safe for the tau empire. For now, the final answer falls to you Lord General Turner. What shall we do?"

The idea of helping the eldar is annoying, but they do keep their word. They have been secretive and didn't want to share anything with the alliance. Is this ritual truly worth using? What will the eldar gain that will make the war against Malice and the others more effective? Lucas sighs before his lover, friend, and allies. He knows in his mind that the choice he makes will be annoying to all either way.

**Chapter 2: Section 2 – 3**

The active soldiers set up the defenses. The traps are set far out into the land. They place mines, tiger traps, and spike pits all around. The orders and words are still hard to accept and difficult to follow; however, the imperial army knows the duty. They follow the orders they are given:

_"Set up the defenses around the base. The eldar will complete their ritual and help us stop the orks."_

The imperial guardians load their weapons and mount up a tough defense. The ogryns load their guns and take their orders. The imperial guardsmen still don't know which is more insane. The eldar didn't help them before, but now, they are willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with them. Nothing is making sense but they all follow the words of their Lord General. Any present and available tech priest enhances the surrounding land with all forms of technology. From advanced weapons to dangerous explosive, the skitarii warriors use any advantage they can to make the defense stronger. Carl rallies and issues out orders as best he can. Lucas helps him only a little to focus on the center area. Lina keeps the data flowing through all the systems they have operational. The tau army stays out of the ritual and only receive reports of what is going on. At the head of the council, Aun El Rai watches the commotion from the monitors.

He says, "It is pitiful they help them. The leadership is foolish to be involved with the eldar. We are to keep all our forces out of the matter. They will receive no help."

As the order of the ethereal is broadcast over the tau zones, many still disagree with the plan. Suu prays and hopes that Carl will be safe. She keeps looking around for ways to break the order. At the center of the fortifications, he continues to prove he will be a great leader.

Carl says, "Make sure we have enough mines and traps ready for the enemy. I want all four battle tanks operational. Any and all pathways for the enemy to get in must be accounted. The ogryn packs will be the last defensive line to hold back the enemy."

Lucas and Lina watch him with interest. They marvel at how well he is keeping things together. At the center, Kayleth and Veldoran still find no words to explain away why the ritual requires the spirit stone of an eldar farseer no longer functioning. Xi makes assures them all would work out.

Veldoran says, "This is all too strange. Why does she need the spirit stone of farseer Elenwe for this ritual? What do you believe she is doing?"

Kayleth answers, "I do not know. We will learn what there is once she is done. For now, we help her. I will be at the front doing what I can to keep us alive."

Once she leaves from the area, Xi calls over Veldoran. He becomes interested as he comes over.

She says, "This ritual will save our craft once it is complete. A new beginning for us will emerge here and no problems will stop us. I will be looking forward to your assistance."

Veldoran nods his head, but there is something he is still not understanding about the ritual. With the preparations almost ready, the warlocks of Ctho and Alaitoc take their place around the land. Veldoran agrees to only defend the ritual against any orks coming to the area. He finds Lucas ready with his personal guard taking their places around the area just outside of the ritual grounds.

Veldoran goes to Lucas and says, "I understand why your allies refuse to help us, but I thank you for your help. This plan Xi has in mind for us all may be the key we need to stopping the orks and the Sons of Malice."

Lucas turns to him, "I don't really know how things are going to work out from here on out, but we will see what this will do for your people. You just better pray that this doesn't end badly for any of us."

After everything is ready and the teams are set, Xi takes her place in the center of the ritual grounds. She has her face painted in bright colors of red, green, and blue. She looks down at the spirit stone of Elenwe. The time is now; the enemy is coming. Xi stands in the center. The warlocks aim their hands at her. With the warp flowing from them, Xi channels their power into her body and through the spirit stone. The light shines brightly and empowers the spirit stone of Elenwe. A few soldiers turn their head to look at the magnificent display of power. The guardsmen are absolutely gasping over the colorful show of warp; a few imperial guardians are stun by the amount circling around their head. Xi summons her strength to channel more of the warp through her. With a thunderous roar, she lets a beam of warp flow into the sky. It only takes a few orks to look towards the sky and see the bright light of warp energy.

With their war tendency rising, the few mobs of orks rush to the light and hope to see a fight. The roar of the mobs travel through the sky; everyone looks on and stands ready to receive their rampage. The rifles are charged and the bolters are loaded. Carl looks everywhere and keeps trying to anticipate the movement of the orks. With quick eyes, he spots the first mobs coming at his unit. The mobs are smaller orks. They are easily put down before reaching the traps. A few eldar stand next to their human allies and await the next wave. A mob of ork nobs come rushing over the hills and fall into the traps. Some fall into tiger traps and others trigger the land mines in the field. The skitarii teams analysis the results of the battle. It is nothing new for them, but the data of the battle field is always collected. Suddenly, a loud noise is heard in the sky.

Every eye looks to the air and a shock comes to all. Lucas, Lina, Carl, Kayleth, and Veldoran can't fathom what they all see above their heads. High in the sky, the orks look down at their target. A group of several fighta-bommers circle around the air. The War Harbinger is unable to provide support and the Faded Light floats nearby to cover the area. The fighta-bommers stand outside of the kill zone from the Faded Light ship; however, the orks prove themselves creative for their need to destroy. One ork steps to the exit of the aircraft. He grunts and laughs at the targets. A second orks comes to him and points where he must go.

The ork says, "Look at dis ere. Da targetz ar eazy fo uz ta hit. Wen can I jump?"

The ork nob answers, "Jump now, ya stopid git! Wen da ramp opens, you'z jump out now."

Instead of making the jump, the small ork turns to the nob, "Who you callin' stopid?! You don't kno if dis iz da righ area. War boss Tharacka shoold not made ya in charg'!"

The nob head-butts the ork and roars, "You'z a runty ork! Git outta da plane befo' I toss ya out! Ya makin' uz look bad, ya stopid littl' git of an ork!"

To his surprise, the ork leaps up and head-butts the nob, "You'z nothin' but talk! Why don't I throw you outta da plane?! You'z not da boss ere'! I run dis ere ship!"

Another ork calls to them and points, "Ey! Wha iz dat comin' up..."

Before the chat can go on any more, the back of the ork bommer takes a hit from cannon fire. The other ork fighta-bommers send ork after ork to the surface with bombs attached to them. Many are blown out of the sky, but more fall to the soil. For every ork that crashes into the ground, each one explodes around the area. Carl keeps his order short and simple as he tries to keep everyone from panickng. The imperial army and eldar forces scatter for cover and blast any ork as best as they can before any smash into the ground. The Faded Light moves out from the area near the ritual grounds. With the orks now attacking from the sky and soil, everyone does what they can to keep the zones secure. Lucas orders the tanks to back up and loses two in the process.

He says, "The ork bombers must be eliminated at once. All imperial forces keep the orks from advancing on your position."

Veldoran appears beside him, "Lucas, the Faded Light will handle the ork aircrafts. The assault teams will be left for your people to handle."

At the front, Kayleth and Carl manage to keep the forward teams safe and reduce the attackers.

Carl says, "The orks in the sky are being dealt with. I need all soldiers to keep their the orks on the ground in check. None are to pass by us."

Kayleth looks to her warriors, "Eldar warriors, stay vigilant. They will not last much longer. None must stain the ritual ground."

The ork parties slowly withdraw from the area. With the area undergoing adjustments to the defense, Lucas and Carl compare notes before a loud noise is heard. They look to the area of the ritual. The beam of light now changes color before their eyes. The warp light changes to light blue and more pours out. Xi lets her voice ring loudly as it echoes across the sky.

Lucas contacts Lina, "How far are the orks from our position?"

Lina reports, "The orks are five to ten minutes out from the current position. I hope the eldar will be done before they get to you. I am still seeing more ork teams head for your area since that light attracts them."

Carl heads back to the center only to be stopped by Shelia.

She says, "The ritual is almost complete. You must wait until she emerges from the center. The orks won't be a problem once she is finished."

Carl looks at the ritual ground to see the activity. Instead of trying to ask more questions, he nods his head and backs off. A few soldiers approach only for Carl to order them back from the area. As the warp powers reach full capacity within her body, Xi and the spirit stone of Elenwe rise up into the sky. The memories of Elenwe slowly begin to merge with Xi. Every event they once knew of now slowly becomes something new. The light changes from light blue to solid yellow. The warlocks of Alaitoc and Ctho step back; Xi allows the warp power to consume her and the spirit stone of Elenwe. In mere seconds, everyone clears back from the ritual grounds to see the bright yellow light change to light blue once more. Lucas, Veldoran, Kayleth and Carl stand in awe at the sight of the blue light. The light slowly shrinks down the its original size.

The eyes open to see the light slowly going away. She breathes in the air around her head and can feel her hands rotate. Each finger tip feels the warp slowly circle around the edge and into the palms. The ground is solid and secure. She looks up to the sky to see the beam of warp energy revert back into her body. Everything is the same, but there is something else that must be dealt with. She can hear the orks and they are coming from far away. Once the warp has returned to her, she takes her first steps forward only to be in the eye sight of everyone present. Carl and Lucas are stun with with the amount of warp power coming from her. Kayleth and Veldoran are amazed that the ritual worked so smoothly. Shelia looks on with some delight, but there is more to this new person that stands before them. She is not Xi nor is she Elenwe. The spirit stone of Elenwe has a new owner. She looks at the people around her.

She says, "There will be answers after we stop the coming threats. Show me to the enemy."

With her words spoken, she moves to the highest point around the land. She looks out into the land and pierces through the hills. The mobs of orks are closing in and coming fast. She looks up and sees the ork fighta-bommers on approach. With nothing else left to do, she summons her warp powers from orks are coming with everything they have. Kayleth lead the others to where the new eldar was. They find her on top of the high point. She glows with a blue light flashing within her body. The alarms alert everyone of the ork advance. Before Lucas and Carl can mobilize the soldiers, Kayleth and Veldoran hold them back and witness something surprising. She brings up her hands with the warp swirling in her palms. The clouds in the sky gather together and lighting starts to flash.

Every human eye looks on to see the air twist into massive tornados of lighting. The soldiers run away from the front line and watch the horror be unleashed before them. As the orks on the ground close in, the tornados of lighting strike at the mobs and tear them in half. Every group that is picked up gets torn to pieces and fall to the ground. Many are scorched from the lighting yet they continue to charge ahead. The last few fighta-bommers explode upon contact with the lighting tornados. Once the final ork aircraft falls from the sky, the sky returns back to normal. The victory over the orks is a tremendous relief and grand achievement.

The woman turns to the others and looks at them. She now sees Kayleth.

She telepathically shrieks, "...YOU...!"

Kayleth unleashes her weapon only to be shoved against the soil with a powerful warp spell. Everyone backs away as they look on to see a new problem has come to the eldar.

Lucas calls to Veldoran, "What is going on? Why is she attacking Kayleth?"

Veldoran turns to him, "We may want to leave the area. This is not our fight."

Lucas feels a wave of heat coming from Kayleth as she pushes the warp spell off. The new eldar warrior floats over to Kayleth and continues to use her palm to hold her down. Kayleth lets her rage boil over before she leaps up. She stands on her feet and unleashes the power of Khaine before all. No one didn't understand what is going on. Veldoran is at a loss for words. Carl and Lucas want to understandwhy this is happening. Shelia walks up behind everyone and removes her mask.

Shelia says, "Everything is alright. She just needs to see if Kayleth can still lead her kin to victory. The real challenge is making sure she isn't tainted."

Kayleth stands before her new eldar warrior, but now the questions come to mind. With her blade in hand, she watches her opponent make a new weapon before her eyes.

She takes a lance in her hands and says, "I am not Elenwe of Alaitoc. I am no longer Xi of Ctho. Those memories are now mind. I am Xiwe of both craft worlds. I am here to see if you will lead us to victory or fall before the time is upon us."

Xiwe launches herself at Kayleth. They clash their weapons together.

Kayleth asks, "Why are you doing this? Why are you testing my mettle?"

No reply comes from Xiwe. Instead, she surprises Kayleth with a swift roundhouse kick to the head. The force from her sent Kayleth crashing into the soil. Xiwe stands and waits for her to stand up. Everyone looks on to see Kayleth in pain and struggling to get to her feet.

She thought, "This Xiwe is stronger than I anticipated."

Xiwe leaps at her foe again only for Kayleth to unleash more of her power. The heat wave from her causes eldar warlocks to put up a barrier to contain the fighting between the two. Kayleth uses her blade and knocks away the lance for an opening. She strikes a hard right to her head. The attack sends Xiwe back. Everyone witnesses the power of Xiwe unleashed as the warp changes her slowly. With her power now stronger than ever, the fight becomes too intense. Lucas and Carl order all imperial soldiers back to their camp. Veldoran and Shelia see to their safety. Before they leave, Lucas questions the issue once more.

He says, "Why is this Xiwe doing this to Kayleth?"

Shelia answers, "As I said before, this is a test for Kayleth. If she can't lead us properly, Xiwe will have to assume leader as both the new farseer and autarch for both craft worlds. Kayleth has only one chance to prove herself. I pray that she doesn't fail."

Carl steps forward, "What happens if Kayleth fails?"

Veldoran looks at them with worried eyes, "She may be killed for this."

The answer doesn't bring any of them relief, but they realize this isn't a fight for them. As the imperial army retreats from the area, the fight continues. Kayleth leaps at Xiwe with the blessing of Khaine flowing. Xiwe stands and holds her ground. The warlocks do their best to contain their warp energy. Who will emerge victorious?

**Chapter 2: Section 2 - 4**

The ringing is loud. Every time the weapons slam against each other, the noise rings loudly. A leap into the air with a swift kick to the head forces one to duck the blow. The swing of the blade causes one to twist their body away from the sharp edge. The left fist is brought to the body only to be blocked by a lance. The warp powers explode from within and forces the others to focus only harder. They strain their body to hold back the phenomenal force of Xiwe and Kayleth. Even after their performance during the ritual, the warlocks of Alaitoc and Ctho do their best before a few are taken away to recover. Kayleth strikes to strike at her head, but Xiwe blocks the attack with her lance. Xiwe sweeps her leg and causes Kayleth to stumble. With a twist of her body, Kayleth receives a hard elbow to the jaw from Xiwe. The attack stuns her and allows Xiwe to catch her off guard with a powerful warp blast. The attack sends Kayleth slamming into the ground again. Xiwe leaps at her opponent only to be caught off guard herself. Kayleth quickly propels herself forward with her warp power. Xiwe didn't have time to guard and takes a full to the stomach. Before she touches the ground, Kayleth throws her blade at Xiwe. Though the attempt is blocked, Kayleth used the warp charged blade to have Xiwe shocked. The attack is successful and Xiwe crashes into the ground.

Kayleth lands on the ground, "Is that all you have left? I expected..."

Xiwe cuts the chat short with a fast recovery. She launches her at Kayleth and forces her to jump back. Kayleth retrives her blade with her warp power just in time to block the next attack. Xiwe nearly uses her lance to slash at the head of Kayleth.

Xiwe says, "You are almost a disappointment. Be thankful that our duel is at an end."

Kayleth watches Xiwe leap back from her and relaxes her warp power. The warlocks stop shielding the area and relax their mind. Shelia and Veldoran return by the side of Kayleth. Everyone now looks at Xiwe with great interesting.

Veldoran asks, "You made yourself quite the entrance after being brought to life from Xi and the spirit stone of Elenwe. Who are you? Are you still Elenwe reborn, or do you remain as Xi?"

Xiwe answers, "You are wondering of your title, Great Enchanter Veldoran. To answer your questions, I am neither Elenwe nor Xi. I am both of them. My name is Xiwe of craft world Ctho and Alaitoc. I am here to give our people guidance until we can escape from this galaxy."

Shelia steps forward and says, "I now see. Xi was calling us to find her people out in the landscape where it is hot. The only question left for me is how did she end up with the spirit stone of Elenwe?"

She replies, "During the time of the ork attack, Xi used a simple warp spell to take the spirit stone from your base. It was easily undected."

Kayleth still holds her blade firm and grips the hilt tightly, "Why did you attack me? What was the point of attacking?"

Xiwe looks at Kayleth with disgust, "There will be a time to deal with you later. For now, I will accept you as the current autarch of both craft worlds. Rest assure, if you lead any of us down the road of ruin, I will kill you before you corrpt any of our kin. And now, I can bring over the rest to join us."

To their surprise, many other eldar join them by the thousands. Veldoran smirks at the surprise visit and Shelia is happy to see more eldar join them. Only Kayleth and Xiwe stand on uneven soil. As the eldar of both craft worlds slowly adjust the area, the imperial army arrives back at their base. Carl bids Lucas farewell and returns to his base in the south. Lucas passes through the base and receives a warm welcome from others. They praise him and his companies for the successful battles. After thirty minutes of traveling, he arrives back at his own place. He opens the door to find a meal is ready for him. He looks around to see no one until the door is shut behind him. He turns to see her standing before him. Her robe is loose her body and no attachments are visible. Before he can place anything down, Lucas smiles.

Lina approaches him and says, "So, I have taken the liberty to ensure all my teams are going to be busy for a long time. I would have given left my own place of study to be here."

She takes his weapons from him and continues, "I made you something small, but we only have four to six hours of rest. And I want..."

Lucas places his hand over her lips, "It is fine. Come here."

He pulls her in tight and holds her gently. She feels his arms wrap around her waist as he looks into her eyes. She is nervous and happy. He is exhausted and proud. Lucas caresses her face and whispers _thank you._ They enjoy their time alone even if time is against them. Carl arrives at his command post and enters to see papers stacked in front of his desk. He looks over them to see that each paper is about updates, morale issues, and requests.

He sighs, "Well, thank the Emperor that I don't have the usual fifty papers a day. I wonder why the stack is less?"

In an hour, Carl finishes looking over the paper and signing off on the request needed for Lucas to approve. As he files and transmits the information to Lucas, a throat clearing occuring behind his back. Carl turns to see her.

He thought, "...You've got to be shitting me..."

Suu stands before him with her arms crossed. Carl hopes this is not about to be a pointless argument.

She says, "I won't make your day any more harder than what it was when the orks attacked you. All I want to know is everything done. The eldar will no longer require your assistance?"

Carl sighs, "Yes, as far as we know, the eldar don't need us for now. We left them to their own problems. Last we recall is a fight between two of them."

Suu scoffs and adds, "I hope the eldar perish from their own ignorance. They are nothing but a waste of time for imperial and tau resources."

Before she can go, Carl stops her by grabbing her arm. She looks back at him and nearly gives him a blush.

He asks, "Since you were here, why don't you tell me about your day."

Suu's face brightens up, "Ummm, well...we didn't have much to do other than keep the orks at bay and continue sending resources back to our capitals. The imperial soldiers kept to their duties and left us to our own."

Carl gives her a smile, "Then, nothing else happen while we were away. That is good to hear. I do want to know why do you hate seeing us work with the eldar. Is this because of the recent events with them?"

Suu stands firm and proudly answers, "The eldar species is nothing but a life form of self serving, self righteous fools. Where they see a moment to manipulate one race, they see it as an opportunity. All throughout their entire life, the other life forms are viewed by them as weak, ignorant, unworthy, and mere children. Now, they are bands of a lost tribe unable to regain what was their own due to constant needs to seek out ways to avert their own demise. Even when the tau empire barely became known in the galaxy, they seek to eliminate another force by use of deception. You ask me why do I hate the eldar race? I will explain it to you in a simple way."

She continues, "The eldar are untrustworthy in every sense of the way. They use others before they are committed. They scavenge where they can. They use lies and deception to bring atrocities down on their allies. Now, the tau leaders seek to establish a understanding and cooperative empire meant for all species across the galaxy. We, unlike the eldar, open our minds to creating an empire that strives on technology, reason, science, belief, and mostly the greater good. Tell me, Carl. Why would your military waste any more time on a pointless species like the eldar? What do they owe you?"

He waits for a moment and replies, "So, what that a personal gratification of the tau empire's glory? Or, maybe it was a serious insult to a species that humanity knows it can't be trusted?"

Suu realized how far her overstep was and becomes embrassed. As she composes herself, a serious matter comes up within the tau capitol. Shas'O Kais and Aun El Rai look into the latest their active probes have discovered. Far into the void of space, one of the eight probes pick up signs for a new planet to discover.

Kais says, "We have managed to find several other planets in this new galaxy that can be useful for our expansion. How soon would you like for us to begin the task?"

El Rai answers, "The task can start whenever you completed the the rest of plans for it, but there is a more pressing matter. We must see if the humans and eldar are willing to join us before we send our people to these others planets. We don't want any sign of mistrust to pique their mind. We will meet with the leaders tomorrow morning upon the rise of the sun. Let them know that this is an urgent matter."

Kaboom! The landscape is a home for strongest and mightest. The tribes are now expanding to eight. One tribe is the shooters and they love to hear the roaring sound of any gun. The second bunch are crazy speed freaks that don't mind crushing the body of anyone in their way. The third mob is anxious to use their axes to cut into anything living. A group of remaining fighta-bommers do what they can to keep their aircrafts fixed. Far in front of all the groups, packs of orks keep the firing going and make the area hot. The sixth and seventh mobs are being kept in check with a head-butt here and there. Though they are the largest, the mobs of six and seven are orks still in need of proper motivation. Lastly, at the center of the ravaged land, they roar and compare. They boast and crush. Every ork chief of the eight tribes stands proud with their personal guard. Not once did any ork nob try and challenge for the chieftain title. Every nob was given his own free will to control his mob. He roars with a thunderous cry and calls to his chieftains. They gather before him only to discuss when the next war will begin.

Shooter Chieftain says, "War Boss Tharacka, wen iz we gonna hit da humies again? We ar ready ta crush dem humies, eldar, and grey-skin to ah...well ah...we juz ready ta fight."

Speed Freak Chief adds, "Me boyz an I ar anxiouz ta driv ova dem. Dey's weak and youz kno it."

Tharacka replies, "Ha! We'z not gonna chaleng dem juz yet. I wanna fight dem at their bezt. One of youz cheifz will stay ere ta kep em busy. I am takin' da rest of you ta da otha planetz to get ready. So, whic one wantz ta kill som more?"

Having just finished his words, the ork torcher steps forward with a cigar in his teeth.

He says, "Let me stay ere. I, chieftan Scorcha, will kep all dem busy whil youz all get ready."

Fighta-Bommer Cheif interrupts, "Youz not gud enuff! Your boyz can bareli kep a flam goin'. You won't last dat long. Your klan iz too weak!"

Scorcha head-butts the other chief in the head and forces him to kneel. The Fighta-bommer chief tries to rise up, but he receives a blowtorch of fire to his face. Tharacka and the other ork chiefs laugh at the reaction the chieftain shows. Tharacka grants Scorcha full authority over the operations on the planets. When asked why he is taking the other chiefs elsewhere, Tharacka surprises the chiefs.

He says, "We'z doin' all dis fightin' fo ah reazon. Da humies and dere friendz tink dey ar winnin' ere. Dey iz wrong. I'm makin' sure all of youz chiefz ar ready wen da humies, da eldar, and da grey-skin com ta fight. Scorcha will stay ere ta fight em. I'm takin' youz boyz to mo planetz ta claim dem as your own. Now, let'z get da gork off of dis ere planet now."

The majority of orks take to the raggedy, functional ork ship. The orks named the busted ship Planet Crusha. Though still holding together from large blouders, the Planet Crusha keeps the orks well contained. The mekboyz continue their maintence on the ship and continue to reinforce the weak areas. Tharacka takes his place at the helm of his ship. The war chiefs keep their ork parties in line and the smaller orks make sure supplies are ready for surface drop. The ship takes to the sky and continues to rise above the orbit. Once above the planet, Tharacka orders his ship operators to take them to the far reaches of the galaxy. They search for a new planet to infest. One of the tau probes in space transmits the image to the fortress below. In moments, the engineers update the information and report it to the commander and leader. Aun El Rai smiles at the idea of orks leaving and Shas'O Kais prepares for the next campaign to rid the orks of the planet.

As the night time begins, many look to the sky to see that it is full with three moons. The night time doesn't seem like and every area within the landscape is bright and wonderful. News of this view is reported to Lucas and Lina. They enjoy the sight of what they see and inform all imperial partol teams to keep an eye out for any orks. The night is slow with no orks attacking and many patrol teams keep the interior of the imperial fortress. As a few imperial soldiers come to a check point, they meet with tau fire warriors performing their own security check. The guardsmen look on and watch them double check their guns before returning back to their duty. The tau base keeps several honor guard fire teams active with kroot packs. As the night time brings everyone a moment of peace, both factions wait for the trouble to come to them. The three moons put everyone at ease, but only one person continues to to remain alert. The warp shoots out again and the daemon hands crack again. Though they heal and continue to hold him, each wound is growing. The damage is getting harder to repair and she is running out of ideas.

She thought, _"How much longer must I watch over him? He can't stay like this forever. He will break out and destroy me."_

**Chapter 2: Section 2 - 5**

The morning, or mid-morning as they call it, is full of voice, reason, and even news. Aun El Rai and Shas'O Kais march at the front of their army to the other side of the land. Upon hearing this, Carl and Lina meet them half way with their mind wondering why. The sun is shinning bright, the civilians are busy, and the army is ready for their new orders. As Lucas and Lina stand face to face with Rai and Kais, they are still stun by the request they make.

Aun El Rai asks again, "I will repeat the statement again. We, the tau empire, are requesting your assistance with the orks that are left on the planet. We can prevail against them, but the chances are higher if you all help us deal with the matter now."

Shas'O Kais continues, "Our probes in space have picked up the ork vessel leaving this planet. They are mostly going elsewhere to set up a new base, but they left a single ork tribe here for us to deal with. If the orks are eliminated now, this will free up your planet and allow us to lay claim to a new world for our people. I am sure you want this whole planet to remain under imperial control with no part of us involved but leaving only a small settlement for us to continue with proper alliance agreements and negotiations for resources. With your help and stopping the orks now, we will leave this world and continue our search for a new home."

Lina and Lucas are completely taken by surprise with the idea of the tau leaving.

Lucas says, "I understand you are respecting our regulations and rules for xeno involvement, but is this what you want. Do you really find being here with us a problem? The planet is large enough and there is way more areas for us to explore."

Lina adds, "Your statements for finding a new home are acceptable, but the chances of finding a new planet to begin your life on is still low. This galaxy is new and there is so much out there to still discover. Yes, we have our own ways as do you; however, I see no real profit or gain for you if you under take this mission to find another liveable planet."

Kais sighs and sadly replies, "The true of the matter is our other races can't stop in stasis for no more than five more years. We can only afford to stay here with you for another two and a half years, but everyone must be out when five years go by. Our vespid species must be able to survive the harsh condition of the new world they see. If we are to make sure every species of the tau survives, then we must have a home for ourselves."

Lina uses her wrist device, but El Rai interrupts, "If you are looking for habitable zones for our vespid race, there is no need. We have looked and tried. We dare not risk bringing them out until we find something for them. And the kroot packs are becoming low in numbers each day without proper food. Our next planet must be for us all to thrive on."

Lucas clears his throat, "What you propose is most unacceptable. You came here with us to this new galaxy. As much as I want to throw you on the ground with your bodies broken in half, I will not allow you to use a pointless mission. Your methods are weak and your request is more than just a simple matter. Shall I explain to you how and why?"

El Rai and Kais look to Lucas and he continues, "My imperial command is to kill all xeno and exterminate all alien life. My mission changed the day I became an imperial exploration leader with the authority of a Lord General Militant. To make sure I am successful, I was given the rogue trader authority too. All of this was bestowed upon me by High Command. I may seek to destroy you, but not in a manner as unfitting as this. I have engaged your army as allies to help me accomplish my mission. If I let you go out into the new galaxy with little chance of discovering a new home, where will I turn back to for help should the eldar not be able to help me? And even if you find a new planet to live how, how soon can you tell if it is safe to grow on without any hostile force coming at you? There are still many orks out there and they reproduce fast. Without a defendable position, you may die quicker than ever. Now, here is my counter offer to you. First, you are to stay here and accept a support role for helping the imperium. In return, we make sure you find a planet for your kind and find ways to make sure your kind won't die off. If you refuse, I'll go to war with you right now."

Shas'O Kais and the honor guard power up their weapons, but Lucas orders his men to not raise a single rifle. Aun El Rai accepts the idea only to hear the protest from his commander.

He says, "Shas'O Kais, this is a benefit for both us and the imperial army. They will help us and we will help them. And if you still desire war, we will be ready to face you when the time comes. For now, I believe peace for us is the best course to take."

Aun El Rai bows to Lucas only for him to see the Lord General's hand extend to him.

Kais aims his cannons, "What manner is this you show my leader?"

Lina answers, "It is a hand shake. It is how we will honor our agreements with you from now on. Please, El Rai. Do the same motion Lucas is doing."

El Rai extends his right hand out with his palm open. Lucas grips his hand and shakes it gently. The motion is new to Aun El Rai, but he understands it. With the agreement and understanding clear, the imperial army and tau army begin the campaign together. Shas'O Kais and Lucas would lead the army together as a united force. The news spreads like wildfire to every tau and imperial area. As the alliance becomes active for the journey, there are more pressing issues far in the land where the eldar reside. The Faded Light shines in the sky and many bone singers continue to keep the ship ready for any sign of danger. Elsewhere, she moves pass her people with her rage slightly rising. The nerve of this new eldar is quite refreshing for many. Before they can stop her approach, Kayleth appears in the center of the gather and demands the answers.

Kayleth roars, "What is the meaning of this? When did you decide the fate for our kin?"

Xiwe turns to her with her lance changing into a staff, "I do not answer to you. You and I still have matters that will be settled much later. For now, we have our mission. We must bring the rest of the eldar of Ctho here. I am only glad I didn't bring everyone until I knew it was safe."

With her words spoken, many the eldar prepare for the march back to the heat filled zones. After everyone leaves, Kayleth finds herself being overlooked. Her authority seems to no longer matter. Shelia and Veldoran show up and speak to her.

Veldoran says, "She didn't tell us this plan until just now. Her warp powers are extremely strong."

Shelia adds, "Yet, she kept the rest of her eldar kin hidden from us. We only saw a mere fraction of what is left out there. I am curious to see how many more exist."

Kayleth scoffs, "You can praise her for all that you will, but I am not a mere child. Her need to guide the eldar will not over rule my authority to lead us. She will provide me with answers or it is open rebel. I will not sacrifice our kin for any other plans she has in mind. For now, we go to find the rest of her kin. Then, we will discuss our plans together."

The eldar move quickly across the land by web way portals. Each web way gate enhances their portals and allows them to cover a great distance of the journey. In a mere hour, the eldar return to the exact spot where they met with their distant kin. Shelia, Veldoran, and Kayleth arrive just in time to see a hidden secret that they didn't see. WIth the snap of her fingers, Xiwe calls to her hidden kin of Ctho. From the hidden web way portals, eldar of all types appear before and around them. Like a swarm, Xiwe alerts her remaining kin to where the eldar base is at. Shelia happily leaps back to the base and welcomes the new faces with stories; Veldoran teleports back to the base so he can learn old and new spells of the warp. Kayleth stays just behind Xiwe with her eyes fixated on her. Once the last of the eldar leave, Xiwe turns to Kayleth. The tension is high and both are ready to unleash their wrath.

Xiwe says, "You still require an answer from me? You want to know why I attacked you upon my reincarnation before our kin? The answer is simple, but you need to learn it for yourself."

Kayleth nearly smiles, but she scoffs, "You seek to usurp my authority and instill your own rule. Tell me, Xiwe. What future do you see yourself ruling the eldar with me as your second?"

She replies, "You are as blind as a fool yet only see what you wish. I will not tell you nothing until the moment is upon us. For now, consider me your adviser until _further notice_."

Before she can leave, Kayleth rushes upon her. Her blade is slowly heating up as it is pressed against Xiwe.

Kayleth says, "What do you mean, 'until further notice' Xiwe?"

Xiwe coldly looks at her only for Kayleth to feel the sharp part of her staff touch her leg.

Xiwe answers, "You need not concern yourself, autarch Kayleth. All will be settled when the moment is right. Now, if you are done with this pointless issue, we must hurry back to the base. I have much to share with you all."

Xiwe disappears from the area and Kayleth is left with her thoughts.

She thought, "What else is she not sharing with us?"

In the far south region of the land, they continue to march as a whole. Nothing is new to the imperial army. They march against the savage orks with a new xeno force at their side to face them. The journey takes them three days to find the first outpost. The outpost only has a few orks and smaller gretchins. It didn't take the allaince long to turn the ork outpost into a fortified watch tower for the human and tau forces. As they set up a strong defense around the area, Lucas and Shas'O Kais stand together in a tent. They look at the terrain of the area by map.

Lucas says, "This ork seems to have set up the area nicely. They have the front area heavily reinforced."

Kais adds, "Assaulting the front of the ork settlement is an easy task, but it does require a lot of firepower. Perhaps there is another way."

Carl enters the tent and reports: "There are routes into the ork territory, but they will make sure we fight them every step of the way. A few orks have their area ready for any sign of intruders. What are you orders?"

Before a word is spoken, Suu comes in and removes her helmet.

She says, "Scout teams have reported the massive concentration of orks. They keep gathering and bringing resources to the center of the land. I don't see any way for us to advance."

With the plan for a stealth approach not possible, Kais and Lucas make plans for a full scale conflict. The map of the land is pulled up and they look at the possible areas of where they can set a base deployment.

Lucas points to three locations on the map, "We have these zones for a base. I will lead our troops here. You can decide which of the other two you want."

Carl calls to Lucas, "Sir, if Shas'O Kais leaves one of the other areas open, allow me to set up a small strike force here. If we are going to fight the orks yard by yard, then I want them to hurt every time they don't see us coming at them unexpected."

Lucas grants the request. It didn't take long for the same idea to come to Suu.

She goes to Kais, "Commander, let me accompany Carl to his strike force. It will gives us a chance to keep the orks off balance as you advance."

Kais acknowledges her plan of attack. Suu goes to gather her team. As the preparations get underway, the ork chieftain Scorcha gathers his boys for war.

Scorcha roars, "Lizin up, ya gits. We'z ar da bezt boyz dat eva came ere ta dis new galaxy. Ol' War Boss Bone Snappa iz still killin' humies in da last planet. So, we'z gotta do betta ere. So, get ya torchez ready boyz. We'z gonna burn dis ere planet clean and mak it into a propa ork home. Let'z git dis ere party started!"

The orks all roar, "Waaaagh!"

At the imperial camp, Lucas address his troops with thoughts of valor and bravery.

He says, "We stand here today as men of the imperium; we fight the enemy in a new galaxy. There will be no quarter given. The enemy will fall before the might of the imperial guard. There is no force to stand against the imperial guardians. Let the enemy know that we are not afraid."

The imperial army cheers and hurry to set up the base. They would not allow the orks to over take them in their fight. On the opposite side of the area, Shas'O Kais urges his fire warriors to be ready.

He broadcasts, "We are here to subdue the ork population and rid the planet of their infestation. Every ork must be burned to ash and turned to dust for the alliance to continue to thrive here. Do not give up fire warriors; we will not fail our etheral Aun El Rai."

In a hidden landscape just far from the other positions, Carl keeps his strike teams short and their base well hidden. They all carefully place tree branches and dirt on the few bases to keep their operations hidden. As they continue to hurry, a loud noise is heard from behind their back. Carl and his strike forces turn to see Suu with her team ready to join them.

Carl sighs, "You just had to join me huh? I take it you didn't just come here to spend time with me?"

Suu replies, "I am here for the strategic advantage. There will be time for us later. Right now, we will join your strike teams and keep the orks busy with infighting among each other. Lucas and my commander will use our strikes to their advantage as they build up the best defensive base for war. Plus, there really is no need to cover your facility in tree branches and dirt. The orks won't come..."

An ork nob roars and tries to attack Suu directly. Carl ends the creature's life with a bolter shot to the head. The ork falls dead at her feet. Suu is surprised at how fast Carl reacts to an ork.

He says, "You would do well to dress down or cover yourself with something that can camoflauge your body. These orks follow a war boss that isn't a fool. So, we will be smart as much as we can be reckless."

The tau forces set up their bases next to the imperial camps. They cover the area with as much trees and dirt they can find to make it invisible. All tau fire warriors look at the humans cover their body in mud and grass; in fact, they make sure their body is painted with black and green. The tau forces didn't understand, but they copy the method. Suu approaches Carl and finds him missing his shirt. She nearly lets other ideas cloud her mind as she watches him cover his body in mud and throw on his camo outfit.

Suu asks, "Why do you and your unit cover their body in mud, plants, grass, and paint for battle? This will help you how?"

Carl looks at her with eyes of confusion, "You obviously never heard of the statement: _'Hidding in plain sight'_. I will give you the short version since we will be making attack soon."

As Carl tries to explain, an explosion erupts just out of range. Carl didn't think Lucas and Shas'O Kais would start this. The duo look at the first zone to see a strange source of power twist in the sky. Suu contacts her commander.

She says, "Commander, we will be with your shortly to drive back the orks."

Shas'O Kais replies, "We have not attacked the orks just yet, but the explosion is visible."

Carl calls to Lucas, "Lord General sir, give me two more minutes before you provoke the enemy."

Lucas answers, "We barely got the land base built for our assault. What is going on?"

Suu and Carl look at each other and both didn't need any more answers from their leaders to know what is going on. They finish gearing up for battle and make their way to the action. After five minutes of running, they come to a surprise.

**Hello to all, it has been a long while but I am back in the game. Yes, I aim to finish this story and give it a good ending. If you have any ideas to add to it, send your review. I'll be on it as much as I can but please be patient. I'll try to finish it despite the health issues. Ya'll stay tuned and yes, Max will return. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Dawn of War: Where They Belong**

_On a new planet, everything will be a challenge. The land must be livable and oxygen must be at the right level. Though food and resources can easily be found, the real challenge comes from dealing with an inhabitants that occupy the planet._

**Chapter 3: Section 3 - 1**

The soft grass is motionless and the air is cool to the skin. Each step brings them pass a sight that many have seen once before. To many others, this is a surprise like none other. The stains of red liquid cover many sections of the land. A head is missing here and the legs are over there. There is a pile of bodies laying in the center of the area. Carl instructs the strike team to begin torching the ork piles as fast as they can. The last thing they want is more orks to come back from the dead bodies. Suu keeps her team on alert status as they nervously advance. A few fire warriors look at the dead and examine the wounds. Every single wound was caused by a blade or warp powers. Carl looks over the area and smiles with some delight.

He turns to his team, "Looks like the eldar are back in the war effort. Let's hope they left us some orks to take out. Five of you stay here to continue burning the bodies. The rest of you on me. We are moving forward."

Suu pulls at Carl's shoulder, "Are you sure we shoulder advance? How can we trust the eldar after all of this?"

Carl looks to her, "The eldar are vicious when they strike silently, but they are not here for us. We will advance, but we will also be careful too."

As they continue with their plan, an update comes to Carl from Lord General Militant Turner.

Lucas reports: "Carl, we are getting reports from scouts about eldar sightings. Find their leader and see what is going on. Turner out."

Carl and his team keeps going ahead with the tau traveling close behind. Suu receives a contact from Commander Shas'O Kais.

He reports: "Fire warriors, take caution. The eldar are in the area attacking the orks. Step cautiously and only engage if they attack. The eldar commander is to be located. Good hunting."

The journey brings Carl and Suu to a new area. It is the same as before. Not a single ork is alive and moving. All of them are dead. They report their findings to Lucas and Shas'O Kais. Lucas is pleased with the results, but Kais believes this is a trap. Once the imperial army and tau forces are set, they advance forward to the first ork base. It didn't take long for them to start torching the area of all ork bodies they find. Lucas is glad for the eldar involvement; however, Shas'O Kais didn't believe for a moment that the eldar are here to help them alone.

Lucas walks over, "I didn't think the eldar would be here before us. At least we are stuck on clean up duty. So, we may not get much action."

Kais harshly says, "These eldar are going to want something more than just simpkle words of appreciation. I can give them show them more than just a show of how much we don't require their help since everything is meant to be manipulated by their hands."

As the armies continue to move deeper in, Carl and Suu hear gun fire nearby. They rush to the area; they find eldar guardians and dire avengers keep their heads down as a few orks try to roast them. Carl and Suu move in and provide relief for them. Once the fighting is over, Carl and Suu meet with Shelia.

He says, "I was wondering if your people got too frighten to fight. What has been new with you?"

Shelia bows and answers, "We are only here to eliminate the ork threat to us. It seems the tau and your own army had the same idea. But, we have only one base left. Kayleth will be leading the strike soon. These orks were strays from where Kayleth is attacking. Now, we are going back to finish this problem."

Before she can move, Suu asks, "So, what are the eldar doing here? I hope you don't believe that providing help now will absolve you of any past failures."

Shelia steps to Suu with her blades ready. Before they can engage, Carl steps between them.

He says, "I just want to speak with Kayleth and find out what is going on. Ever since we left, we didn't know if you were still around or moved on."

With the ork threat still alive, Shelia agrees to bring the group to Kayleth. Suu is far from being cooperative and Carl wants to understand what is happening. At the front of the army, Kayleth removes a blade from the ork's head. With the last of their teams dealt with, they would now go on the offensive. The eldar keep their base well hidden, but the tension among certain ones are high. Kayleth issues out orders for the last of her kin until other members from craft world Ctho ignore her authority. Many stand by and wait for Xiwe to return. Upon their arrival at the eldar base, Shelia shows the pair to Kayleth.

Carl says, "It is good to see many new faces, but they each have unique designs for clothing. What unit are they?"

Suu and her squads keep close to their human allies. They feel nervous to stand around both eldar clans.

She turns to Shelia, "Where is Kayleth? It is urgent that we speak with her at once."

Shelia smiles and leaps away with a graceful dance. Out from a warp portal, Kayleth steps forward.

She looks to Carl and Suu, "Whatever it is, there is no time for it. We have more pressing matters than to hear any words from you."

Before Carl can speak, Suu interrupts, "What brings you out here? We are looking into the ork solution and stand ready to eliminate them."

Kayleth replies, "Then, you are wasting time. The orks will fall to us and we will claim victory here. Go back to your tower and stay behind your ethereal's cloth."

Suu nearly aims her pulse rifle at Kayleth only for Carl to step in between them.

He says, "This isn't the time nor the place for any of us to start fighting among each other. We have orks to kill and our army will be here shortly. Allow us to make things easier for you."

Kayleth considers the idea and keeps the eldar on standby despite the small protest from the other eldar of Ctho. After time goes on, the roaring sound of imperial transport tanks roll up. The hovering noise of the tau hover vehicles land just nearby. They pile out of the transports and enter the eldar camp. Though friends and allies of eldar come to greet them, they are surprised to see new faces among them. The imperial army greets the eldar of craft world Alaitoc, but the eldar of Ctho gladly show them hostilities. Many soldiers back off and keep their caution from the new eldar. Lucas and Shas'O Kais move ahead of everyone and greet their long absent leader.

Lucas says, "It is nice to see that you can always expect new eldar to be surprised by how friendly humans can be. Nice to see you too, Kayleth. I hope your kind has been well."

Kais keeps his cannons charged up as the new eldar look at him with steady hands.

He says, "Order your soldiers to stand down. They are not going to be harmed unless they force our hand."

Before Kayleth can speak, a warp portal opens and out comes Xiwe with her warlocks.

She says, "hmph, this is sad. I knew you had dealings with the lower life-forms, but now they come to beg for us to save them."

The very words strike a serious cord with Lucas and Shas'O Kais. Before anyone gets a horrible thought, Carl pleads with both sides to stand down. Suu watches him closely as he stands between a cannon from her commander and the blades from the eldar.

He says, "I understand that we have some new faces among the eldar and things are different. How about we deal with the orks? They enemy is not worrying about waiting for too much longer."

Xiwe steps to Carl, "And who are you, pitiful _mon-keigh_? You dare speak to me as though you are my equal?"

Carl turns to the eldar with a serious look in his eyes. He waves his hand at the others to not interfere.

Carl says, "I am of the imperial guardian. My name is Carl. You would do well to remember that when you have need of someone saving you. We have come here under a banner of truce to speak with you and Kayleth. If this is the path of the eldar, then we shall no longer bother with asking for your appearance. I stand here before you unafraid. You can bark your orders at your kin, but we are here for the orks. So, with that said, we will take our leave of you. Let us go, Lucas and Commander Shas'O Kais. The eldar are unworthy of our time."

As he tries to turn and walk away, Xiwe moves in front of him. She looks into his eyes as Carl keeps everyone from firing at the eldar with a wave of his hand. Xiwe looks at him and stares into the core of his eyes. She sees something there, but there is a moment. She nearly smiles at him and raises her lance. With the back of the blade, she taps Carl on his shoulder's. Suu grips her rifle hard and stands ready to rush upon her.

Xiwe says, "Carl. That is your name? I shall remember it and only speak to you when I have something to tell you."

Carl is at a loss for words, but Suu steps in front of him with her rifle ready to fire.

Suu says, "As he told you, your kind is unworthy of our time. We take our leave at once to deal with the orks."

Xiwe looks to Carl, "What makes her believe that she can speak among us? Is she not your pet?"

Suu aims the rifle under her chin and pulls a pin from her plasma grenade, "This _**'pet'**_ will end your life, eldar witch!"

Carl waits and watches. Xiwe quickly knocks her grenade into the air and disables her rifle. Once done, she walks away with the eldar moving their base away from the others. Kayleth waits a moment and only gives an apology for the hasty action done by Xiwe. Once she leaves, the imperial army and tau forces set up a strike base for the last assault on the ork base. As the companies of tau and imperial soldiers march out, Carl and Suu stand before their leaders. The tension is high, but they know who is to blame.

Lucas says, "Well, the eldar have a new farseer that is truly vicious with her words and more dangerous than Kayleth is. I appreciate what you did Carl, but you are to never risk yourself like that again. You are a good soldier and I don't need their help if they will continue to be like this."

Shas'O Kais adds, "We do not require the aid of the eldar any more. It is clear that they are on a different level than before. I am proud of your dedication today, but you must not challenge her. Suu, continue your task with Carl and report back afterwards. We all will have things to discuss once this is over."

As the two salute their leaders, the roaring sound of the orks come to all. At the front, the land is covered in flames by the torch boys of Scorcha. He is seen roaring and leading the charge against the alliance. Tau fire warriors and imperial guardians take cover by their armored vehicles to avoid the flame throwers. A handful of them manage to get off some shots, but the orks are far from done. As they come to the front, they twist and turn their body. In their hands, they hold tight to a ball of metal and fire. The groups of orks continue to keep spinning until enough momentum is acquired. The orks toss metal napblam spheres at the alliance. Each toss is well over seventy-five yards away from the orks. The eyes look up and see the burning objects come at them. Even with the few orks in front of them, they didn't believe the enemy would be so reckless. They all scatter from the armored only to witness the destruction. A few vehicles explode upon contact.

**Chapter 3: Section 3 - 2**

The view is chaotic and hellfire is everywhere. The hard steps crush the soil; they run as fast as their legs would carry them. Each explosion throws them into the dirt, but they receive the help they need. A toss of a special grenade is thrown ahead of the allies. Upon contact, the air is instantly cold. The heat and explosion die off quickly. The orks toss more metal spheres of fire only to see them countered with tau technology. As they pull the humans out from the fire and away from the danger, a new device is appears ahead of them. High on the mountain at the strike base, the tau fire off their new technology.

Each blast lands in front of the alliance and a wall of protection comes up. The barricade bomb is successful. The orks continue to push in and move up more only to stop in the tracks. They roar for a physical brawl and close contact. Suu and Carl arrive at the front to see many in pain. Many suffer from second degree burns and others are covered in minor wounds. Only a handful are burned from the explosions and dead from the fire. The sight saddens them both, but the anger is there. Carl takes over the leadership quickly and does what he can. Suu joins him and issues out orders.

He says, "Get those who are suffering from second degree burns to the medics asap. All other soldiers are to be ready to move on my order."

She adds, "Get the wounded back and make sure we are ready to go shortly. We must fall back to the base."

Carl looks up and sees a single metal sphere coming down by the base. He shouts for the others to look out and runs to tackle a nearby tau fire warrior. He manges to save one, but two others and three guardsmen feel the explosive impact. He stands up and looks down to see them suffer. They are in pain. The roar of the orks forces Carl to look ahead. Here they come. With his eyes locking on the first three, he takes a few steps by the wounded soldiers. He reaches for the bolter pistols and continues to move forward. Suu looks ahead and watches him boldly step to the orks that are charging. A second ork throws a small flame grenade at him. The bomb explodes and blows wind pass his legs. He is unfazed by it.

He looks at the targets and lines them up. With quick hands, Carl uses the bolter pistols to take shots at the orks. Two orks go down from a head shot. He spins to the side and takes two more shots. Two more die quickly as he advances. A single guardswoman joins Carl with a bolter machine gun at her side. It is heavy, but she manages to hold on. Carl and the single guardswoman hold back the few batches of orks with ease. Every shot goes through the head and puts the orks down. Once the damage is done, they resume their regular operations. Many guardsmen walk by the burned victims and hear them scream in pain. Suu looks on to see Carl with holding his guns. She goes over and calls to him.

She says, "That was bold, but you can't risk yourself like that again. You nearly died."

Carl puts his head to the ground and listens. The rumble is soft; he knows what is coming.

He says, "I hope you are ready. They will be here shortly. Ten minutes top."

Suu didn't understand what he meant until the screaming of the orks is heard in the distant land. Carl urges everyone that is left to hold the line here until Lucas and Shas'O Kais can bring them better support. Every imperial soldier scrambles to get ready. Suu issues out the special grenades as fast as she can. They would not let the orks burn away the set up. She finds Carl helping an soldier.

Suu says, "We are ready with our special grenades. They will keep the area clear of fire."

Carl replies, "We got to hold this area. Lucas will be here soon with some help. He told me that Shas'O Kais may surprise the enemy too. So, we hold."

She wants to press him for more words, but Carl says, "It can wait until after we kill the orks. And yes, after this over, you can treat me to our victory."

Before her reply is heard, the time is up. A powerful roar shakes the sky. Carl, Suu, the imperial army and tau fire warriors all take to the front of their holding zone. They look out into the land see him with the smoke coming off of him. He stands with his boys and gives another mighty roar. Ork Scorcha is smiling at his hew prey.

Scorca says, "Look at dis, humies!"

A woman and tau fire warrior is brought to the front of the orks. They are shoved to the ground in front of the ork chief. Scorcha turns on his flame thrower and aims at the pair. The view of them being set on fire is shocking to all. Suu whispers a pray to them, but Carl gladly lets his voice be heard.

He shouts, "You've come to die, ork. This land will be your grave and I'll take your head."

After he stops using his flame thrower, Scorcha roars, "You dink ya can figh me? Ha, I lik ta see you'z try it. I'm war chief Scorcha. Dis ere will be my world. Prepar ta die, littl humie. You'z ar mine."

Carl steps from behind his cover and points at the ork. Scorcha laughs and roars for the charge to begin. Carl stands calmly as Suu begs him to get back into cover. He looks back and orders everyone to hold. Every eye looks at the unstoppable might of the orks coming at them. A beautiful tide of green muscle covers the land after fifty yards. Carl continues to urge everyone to hold. Many are nervous and some are ready. The tau stand ready and willing. As the orks come closer, the tau activate their special grenades and time their throwing. Once close enough, each tau warrior throws the special grenade. The air and ground in front of them turns to a cooler atmosphere. The orks try to use their flame throwers only to see small amounts of fire shoot out. As the lasrifles and pulse rifles fire at the enemy, they all advantage to the situation. The orks quickly rush forward and pull their axes out.

After too many orks die in front of the holding zone, many switch to their swords and engage the enemy. The clanking noises ring loudly as the tau keep back to watch the shedding of blood. A guardsman slashes an ork arm off and another runs the sword through the face. One ork slams his axe down on a soldier and whirls around to knock down more guardsmen. In the center of the battle, Carl plunges his sword into the face of an ork. He turns his head to see many soldiers struggle to hold on. As the wounded troops back away, Carl sees him stomp towards the front. With two wounded soldiers in his hands, he throws them to the ground. The soldiers limp back to the imperial side. Scorcha growls and smirks at his target. He looks at no one else and points at him.

Scorcha points at Carl, "You da humie dat wants ta figh me? Well, ere I iz, humie chump."

Carl rips off his torn shirt. He stands ready to to fight Scorcha hand to hand if the need rises.

He says, "You are lucky it is going to be one on one. My friends will take care of your orks."

The loud noise of an imperial horn screams across the landscape. Everyone looks to the rear and sees Lucas waving his hand forward. As the imperial army charges, they are accompanied by kroot warriors and kroot packs. He leaps high into the sky and scans the target around the area. After locking on the massive parties, he fires rockets at the brutes. The XV8 Crisis battle suit pair follow in the same manner as their commander. The orks roar one final time before a wave of explosives send many of them flying. Carl keeps his focus on Scorcha. With his determination unshaken, he throws down his guns and pulls out his combat knife. Scorcha roars with joy and does the same as the orks, humans, tau, and kroot battle around them. Before Carl can advance, Suu comes up and fires a round at the beast. The shots only enrage the ork chief and forces him to charge. Carl leaps to the side only to see Suu try her best to take the fight to the ork. She leans to the side and counters with the butt of her rifle. The attack only gives the ork joy.

Carl looks up to see Suu grabbed by her throat. She pulls out her combat knife and stabs the ork in the arm. Before the worse can happen, she manages to break the knife into the arm of Scorcha. He drops her only to surpise her with a strong counter. Scorcha rams his fist into her stomach and forces her down. With one final kick to her side, he forces her down to the ground. The fire inside of him awakens and gives him courage. He gets up and sees a small ork piece in front of him. Carl rushes for the object and carries the metal piece as a shield. Suu feels her body nearly break from the force. She looks up to see Scorcha rip out the blade and kick her to the side. The ork chief turns to see a metal object collide into his face. With surprising strength, Carl manages to force the ork to stagger to the left. The duel between man and ork continues as before. As Scorcha tries to get his bearings, Carl rushes at him again. He swings his sword at the brute and keeps him on the defensive.

The ork chiefs uses his club to block the sword strikes and shoves Carl back. Scorcha swings his club quickly, but Carl surprises his foe. He slides just under the swing of the club. Scorcha tries to stumbles forward with a slash on his leg. Carl turns around and throws the sword at the ork. The method works Carl has only his combat knife left. With rage in its eyes, Scorcha roars and moves at his opponent. As they swing at each other, Carl feigns his attack cuts his left side. Scorcha howls in pain and feels something slap his back. He tries to reach for it, but the device blips three times before going off. The small bomb technique works and gives Carl an opening. Scorcha falls to the ground on his knees. He tries to stand and continue; the next attack on him is fatal. Carl rams his sword through the ork head. Suu looks up to hear and see the death cry of an ork. Her sight locks on a human finishing off the ork chief Scorcha.

With the ork chief dead and the hunting parties chasing after the others, the alliance achieves victory. The inferno squads of the imperial army burn and torch any ork bodies they encounter. Tau fire warriors use a similiar method to reduce any ork body down to worthless molecubes. As Lucas and Shas'O Kais issue out the last of the orders, they come to find Suu being patched up by Carl with medics for both of them standing by. Carl, Suu, and the others salute their leaders. Lucas comes to shake the hand of the man who killed ork chief Scorcha.

Lucas shouts, "You are one crazy imperial guardian! That's what the hammer of the imperium is all about! The space marines don't got jack on us!"

Carl laughs and proudly adds, "That ork chief was tough, but he didn't have a brain at all. It is no wonder he got this planet. Now is the time to truly turn this planet into the first imperial world. Wait, have we done that already?"

Lucas thinks back to when they did discover this planet, but it occurs to him that they never did properly declare this world apart of the imperium.

Shas'O Kais speaks to Suu, "You must be more careful when facing the enemy. You are a valuable member to the fire warriors. Congratulations on your mission; the orks will no longer plague us."

Suu salutes and replies, "The mission was dangerous, but I had Carl keep me guarded against the ork. I will fill you in on the details about the battle along with the other matter. We need to return back to the fortress and see what will be our next plan."

As the leaders finish up their mission, she continue to watching over him. She eats when possible and sleeps when she can. The warp spells around him keep him locked in his place for as long as it can. The daemon hands bleed warp blood since the recent burst. Now she sees something interesting. Though vulnerable, she is able to still stand and move. She walks over to him. Upon seeing his face, she is at a loss.

The silent woman thought, _"He is smiling?...Why does he smile?...Why?"_

As Max lays trap in the warp spells unaware of the events around him, the woman is curious as to why he is smiling. She continues to watch him with careful and steady hands. As much as she wanted to end his life, the plan to use Max is still apart of Malice's grand design.

They march back with their head high in the sky. No more orks until much later. They now can use this moment to correctly fortify the planet as the new and first home to the imperium. On the other hand, the planet can be used as a tau expansion for the growing empire. It didn't take long for them to send the soldiers off for scouting and exploration. Lucas, Carl and Lina gather their best officers to join them. Aun El Rai, Shas'O Kais and Suu bring their negotiators with them. The leaders and second-in-command of both tau and imperial gather at the shore of the great ocean. They had much to discuss about the future. Once everyone was accounted and present, the discuss starts off with Aun El Rai and Lucas.

El Rai says, "The future of the tau is showing promise and prosperity. With the enemy gone from here, the imperial army can begin their plans for exploration and discovery. The tau will honor their request and leave the planet to search for a new home for ourselves. We shall not forget our friends that have been there for us."

Lucas adds, "I understand your people are anxious to find a new planet to grow on, but until we know the ork threat is completely gone, you have a place here with us. This planet will service as what it is. For now, we must stay alert and ready. But, the first order of business is naming this planet. Since we landed here, we haven't had much time to name this world. So, before we go forward, let's give this new home a proper name."

One woman sergeant says, "The planet is already going to be an imperial planet. So, I say call it Reach."

A tau diplomat replies, "Your Lord General has agreed to let our people stay. Why not name the planet something more worthy? I suggest a name similiar to the tau homeworld."

Carl interrupts, "I am sure we have more than enough time to come up with a proper name for this planet. The real question now is where are the Sons of Malice. We have been fighting orks a lot and not once have they appeared to fight us."

Suu adds, "For now, we can enjoy the time of peace. What are..?"

The gathering is interrupted by a sudden web way portal opening. Right before their eyes, Xiwe, Veldoran, Shelia, and Kayleth step forward.

**Chapter 3: Section 3 - 3**

The time for exploring is high and much is ready to be found. There is a whole galaxy that has planets ready for colonization. From planets of ice to hellfire worlds, the discovery is limitless. All throughout the new galaxy, they have a variety to pick and choose from. On the first planet, the forces of order set up a fair defense and manage to hold their own. After the ork threat is destroyed, the tau and imperial army celebrate. They now have a whole world to change into something better for the future of man and xeno allies alike. As the meeting got underway, the eldar of craft world Alaitoc and Ctho join the leaders unexpectingly. Lucas, Carl, Lina, Aun El Rai, Shas'O Kais, and Suu didn't plan on including Kayleth, Veldoran, Shelia and Xiwe. The gather soon changes the mood for some. The humans stand and watch as the tau warriors aim their weapons at the eldar. In response to them, the eldar hold their palms at the young xenos. Lucas and Carl happily ask all to relax.

Carl says, "Calm yourselves, tau warriors. They are here with us under a banner of peace. There is no need to fight each other."

Lucas says, "Kayleth, you and your kind haven't been around us a lot. Why did you show up now?"

Kayleth answers, "I insisted on coming here to represent myself, but _'someone'_ wanted to see how your gatherings would go."

Xiwe steps forward, "So, you are around the younglings and primitives to see how they fail to do anything worthy of our attention? I should've stayed at the Faded Light."

Aun El Rai steps to her, "This place is for us to discuss the fate of the humanity and the tau. You can show yourself way out since you have your own ways."

Xiwe uses her warp powers on Aun El Rai. Shas'O Kais turns his energy cannon on full blast and fires at Xiwe. The blast forces her to slide backwards. Carl, Lucas and Lina back up as the two combatants step away from the others.

Shas'O Kais roars, "That will never happen again. You have crossed the line for the last time."

As he powers up the suit, Xiwe replies, "You are too young to understand what you are facing. I hope you won't disappoint me."

Xiwe brings her powers to bare against the charged up tau commander. Shas'O Kais fires his cannons at her only to see her take to the sky. Xiwe flies upward and throws down her lance. Upon impact in front of Shas'O Kais, he feels a tremendous surge of power fire some of his circuits. The tau commander falls backwards and suffers from various system problems. Xiwe lands back on the ground and moves in to finish him off. Just as she attempts to land the final blow, Shas'O Kais activates his shield. The tech works and easily cancels out any warp attack Xiwe uses on him. He uses the shield again and it sends out a small blast that throws back the eldar witch. Shas'O Kais stands back on his feet with both cannons ready. Xiwe recovers and charges up her powers once again. Before they could damage the area further, Lucas and Carl step forward. Even Kayleth steps in front of Xiwe.

Kayleth says, "This fight is pointless and serves no purpose. Are you going to stoop to their level of intelligence to prove your superiority?"

Xiwe roars, "How dare you put me on their level?"

Lucas informs her, "You just did when you tried to harm the tau leader. If this is your new path for the eldar, then I will insist you stand down. The tau are here to help us and we will help them."

As the eldar back away, Suu and Aun El Rai stand annoyed and enraged. The nerve of the eldar is bold, but far from forgiven.

Shas'O Kais says, "Those long ear eldar will remember to never raise a hand on our ethereal ever again. Whatever they tried to do to Aun El Rai shall not be forgotten."

Suu adds, "I will gladly eliminate all the eldar if they so much as walk by my ethereal. I didn't cross dark space to be stranded here with no hope."

Carl calms them down as the honor guards move around Aun El Rai. Not once did they keep their hands away from the trigger. All members of the honor guard keep their rifle aimed at the eldar. Lucas, Carl, and even Lina do their best to keep the xeno groups seperated. Carl agrees to speak with the tau at their headquarters. Lucas implores the eldar to retreat back to their own base. With the meeting going sour, every retreats back to their own territory. Carl and Lucas meet after times goes by; they discuss how each will handle the tau and eldar. There is heavy tension between the two xenos.

Lucas says, "I hope we can gain the cunning eldar support. It would seem a lot has happen to them and authority is not as firm as it seems. I will be the speaker for our own kind and keep the eldar away from them. Ugh, I can't believe I am doing what Max should be doing."

Carl agrees, "Yes, the eldar have a new person who now oversees a lot of the plans for their kind. I wonder what happen between Kayleth and the new eldar. The eldar of Alaitoc seem good with us, but the new followers are not all that relaxed with us."

Lina steps to them, "The eldar and tau are both enemies of our empire, but we may need their services for later. By the Omnissiah, I can't believe what I am processing and believing this. If we only had Max with us, this would be better."

All three of them look to the empty space. Lucas, Lina, and Carl wish that Noble One Max Johnson was present with them to help them with this campaign. The sight of him not present causes them to be sad and feel that this is going to be more than just a hectic time. With a firm look, Lucas looks to those he can rely on.

He says, "We can do this. Max may not be here, but we can do this. I will convince the eldar to continue working with us regardless of how I feel."

Carl and Lina nod their head to do the best they can for the imperium of man. They no longer think of expanding their empire of man. All they would do is fight for their survival and ensure their future will be great. Lucas takes a few honor guards with him to the eldar base; Carl allows a small imperial guard unit to travel with him to the tau fortress. Lina continues her daily work for the check-ups on the resources found. The flow of data is grand and extraordinary. Most of the resources and material found is similar to the milky way. As the imperial army continues to scout, explore, gather, and learn, the most challenging part comes to them.

He walks over with his unit to see the massive towers ready and alert. High on the wall, they all look down and scan the humans in front of the gate. The scan reveals who they are watching. With a wave of the hand, Carl and his unit are allowed to step inside. The massive gate opens up and they all smile slightly. The tau civilians welcome the imperial escort and Carl. Before he can call for anyone, she welcomes him with more than just a greeting.

Suu says, "Hello, Carl. I am glad you are here to see us."

The attire Suu wears is slightly revealing, but it covers the important parts. Carl keeps his mind on business. As he walks over and tries to shake her hand, Suu wraps her arms around him. The soldiers with Carl nearly call him heretic until he pulls away from Suu.

He says, "Are you trying to get me killed? I understand you are still interested in me, but your stunt has...oh for the love of the emperor!"

As he turns around, Carl sees many of the tau women and men speak to the guardsmen about their day; in fact, the conversations range from their gear to the loyalty. Carl shouts and orders them to stand outside of the fortress. The majority of them leave and stand guard outside, but only one stays behind. He nearly blocks out everything once said about the imperium. Carl aims his handgun at the soldier and fires a round by his foot. The shot forces him to regain his focus.

Carl walks to him, "Maybe you didn't hear me when I said wait outside. So, how about we go ahead and see if your death will set the example?"

The soldier quickly replies, "Sorry sir. No example will be required. I will remain outside of the gate with the others."

The soldier hurries back to the others. As the tau bow and take their leave, Carl returns his sight back to Suu. She seems too happy to see him and wonders why this is happening.

She says, "I am glad you are here to see us. I was going to greet you at the base in the south, but you kind of caught me unprepared here. I...I don't know...what to say..."

Carl answers, "I am here to speak with your leaders about your current occupation here. There is more to it and the details must be made known. Can you take me to them?"

Although Carl is serious, Suu can't help but feel sooth when she looks at him. Suu walks up to him with her eyes locked on him. As everyone else goes about their daily routine, Suu finds herself lost in his eyes. He calls to her again and informs her of the issue.

Suu touches his shoulder, "I will take you to them, but not when I am unfocused. Can we take a walk before I bring you to them? I need to tell you something."

He replies, "It can wait until after the meeting is over. I promise to hear you out."

She nods her head and takes him through the fortress. Carl looks at the wonder military buildings and scoffs under his breath. There are hardly any turrets to protect them. The further he goes in, the more he sees the more civil area. From buildings of technology to small structures of study, Carl is nearly taken in by the sights. Once they arrive at the tower, Suu speaks to the guards and allows them to finish what she could not. Carl continues to watch surroundings until a honor guard taps his arm; he turns around to see Suu is missing. The honor guard escort Carl inside and take him to the ethereal. As they step inside, Carl is impressed with the place. From the bottom, a set of stairs are in front of him. Carl follows the honor guard up to a massive area for the important people. At the left side, Shas'O Kais keeps his military officers at peace. On the right, more diplomats speak with refine rhetoric. The chatter is intense as Aun El Rai sits at the head of the gather.

Shas'O Kais roars, "The eldar have made an attempt on the ethereal. Aun El Rai, please listen to reason. They can not be trusted nor should we include them in any part of the future. They are as slippery as their tongue is; all their words are full of lies and deception. The eldar of these craft worlds will serve no future worth having. Our best chance is to convince the humans that the Greater Good will be here to out last all of the others. Our cause is righteous as their own. We will continue to fight for the sake of the future."

As others on both sides agree, a diplomat replies, "Our cause for destroying the eldar is just; however, we must not do so out of revenge. They can still be a wise and powerful addition to our empire. I urge that we send over envoys to speak with their kind. The use of this _'warp'_ skill may prove useful for us than against us. The eldar are just use to relying on themselves than following a creed or cause that puts the whole above all other ideas. Do not dismiss them completely; I still see them as an ally to the tau. Maybe they will join our empire once they see what we can do for them."

Aun El Rai considers both side of the argument, but he sees Carl with an honor guard.

He says, "We shall put the ideas on hold for now. We have a guest from the imperial army here with us. All of you can retire."

Carl looks on to see everyone leave. Only he, El Rai, and Shas'O Kais remain in the center room.

Kais bows to him, "Carl. It is an honor to see you among us. I take it you are not here to join our cause? Your Lord General would be most displease if you did."

He laughs and says, "I assure you. I know where my loyalty lies at. So, you can keep talking about it until your heads fall off, but I am here to see if you will consider staying longer."

Aun El Rai steps to him, "The tau are forever in your debt for what you have done for us. The only concern we have is the eldar. That witch did something to me that nearly forced my hand. I am only safe thanks to my commander. You may return to your leader and give him the good news."

Carl smirks and agrees to do so. The chat among them is short, but before he leaves, the air of mistrust is cleared.

He says, "I understand what the eldar did was wrong. I would have raised my hand against them, but I assure you that this will never happen again. You can count on it."

**Chapter 3: Section 3 - 4**

The feeling is strong and she does what she can to keep her thoughts in check. He came to her base and caught her off guard. Though humans and tau do have an understanding at times, this is unheard of for Suu. She manages to make it back to her own private quarters. Her whole face is still bright red and blushing. Each nerve in her being constantly driving her to run into his arms. She breathes in heavily and exhales slowly. Her thoughts try to process what happen to just that fast. The experience for her was refreshing and quite wonderful.

Suu thought, _"Carl didn't tell me he would be coming here. He actually showed up here."_

After a few more minutes of deep breathing, she relaxes and returns outside to see him being escorted off to the gate. Suu stays back and keep her mind on her work. She nearly forgets to take her team out on a patrol to look for resources. She contacts her unit and alerts them of the delay. Suu takes this moment to adjust herself finish up her last report. In minutes, she manages to add in her last few notes and goes to dress herself. The unit grabs their rifles off the rack; they make a few changes to the fire power. Every tau fire warrior stands ready to begin the task. After grabbing her weapon, she calls over her members.

Suu says, "Our task is simple. We scout ahead of the science teams and make sure nothing will impede their work. Let's get moving."

The tau team heads out into the west territory. As much as Suu keeps her mind on what she must does, her thoughts keep coming back to seeing Carl. With the tau forces still willing to work with the imperial army, the only troublesome issue left is the eldar. Lucas and his escort arrive to see a wondrous view. The eldar didn't change anything to the surroundings. The trees are still standing tall; the grass is still perfect. The only new features to the area are the eldar howling banshee warriors standing perfect. Not one of them moves a single inch since the arrival of the imperial soldiers and Lucas. He holds back his unit only to see Shelia twist and twirl in front of him. She bows to him and greets everyone.

Shelia says, "You are fortunate to see me. If I had not shown up, the others would have cut you down."

Lucas scratches his head, "What others are you talking about? I only see you and the current eldar banshees right now."

She snaps her fingers and orders the howling banshees move next to the humans. Out from the shadows, more eldar appear and with guns pointing at them. Lucas and his escorts close together, keeping an eye on all the eldar. Only Shelia and her followers move around the humans. Lucas looks around to find Shelia next to him.

He says, "What is going on here? I thought you were with us."

She replies, "The eldar of Alaitoc are with you. Only those of craft world Ctho shall cut you down. We are keeping you safe. You would do well to see Kayleth and Veldoran alone. Your escort must stay outside of the area."

Lucas agrees to the suggestion to avoid any blood shed. With a wave of his hand and the words of Shelia, the soldiers back off with the eldar of Alaitoc traveling with them. They escort them away from the area leaving Lucas alone to deal with the warp users. All the new eldar circle around him; they keep their weapons pointing at him until Shelia demands their cooperation. A single captain of the group approaches her.

The captain says, "Our orders are to eliminate any that approach us. This human is not welcome here."

She points her weapon at the captain. Lucas keeps his voice quiet and watches what will happen.

Shelia laughs, "You are not my leader. I only maintain the peace and you seek to bring ruin upon us. He is here to speak with our leaders; no one is to harm him unless told otherwise."

The eldar back off and disappear again from the area. Lucas breathes easy, but Shelia urges him to keep his visit short. She escorts him through the area and Lucas keeps his weapons under his cloak for the duration. All around him, the eldar of Ctho look at him as though he has disgrace them by being in the area. Many eldar of Alaitoc stand ready to stop the swift hands of any that will try to attack him. Once they clear the area, Shelia and Lucas step to familiar faces. Kayleth and Veldoran nod their head at their ally; however, Xiwe looks at a person not worth speaking to.

Kayleth steps to him, "I see you are here other than your second-in-command. What do we owe the pleasure of having you here?"

Before he can speak, Xiwe interrupts, "What makes this _mon-keigh_ believe it can speak among us?"

Lucas replies, "Because this _mon-keigh_ is not afraid to face danger."

Before another word is spoken, Veldoran says, "Let us walk to cool our tongues."

Veldoran and Kayleth walk back towards the entrace of the area to avoid causing any more trouble.

Kayleth says, "You will have to disregard the words from Xiwe. Ever since the ritual has fused the memories of Elenwe and Xi together, Xiwe is becoming more difficult."

Veldoran looks back to see eldar of Ctho look for any moment to silence Lucas.

He says, "I see the other kin want to bring you harm, so we will keep this short. What message did you bring us?"

Lucas answers, "Can we still count on your support in this new galaxy? I understand you have your own problems, but we are more than willing to accept any help."

Before either of them can speak, Xiwe appears before them.

She says, "Your time with the human is no longer worth entertaining. Leave him and his allies to their fate. We have more important things to do."

As Kayleth tries to speak on his behalf, Lucas reminds her that all is well. He bows his head and takes his leave of them with Shelia escorting him back out. The eldar return to their ways, but Kayleth and Xiwe still stand opposite sides.

Xiwe angrily says, "You waste our time with these primitives than keeping your mind on the future. If any other autarch saw this, they would easily take over your position and rid you of your kin."

Kayleth replies, "Well, it is a good thing I am not being evaluated by other autarchs. The only eldar that seems so concern with me is you. Your insufferable urge to control my kin is overbearing and you have overstep yourself."

Shelia halts their prattle and says, "Lucas has given us information about their next plans for the future. This planet will be claimed for their empire, but they are willing to alter many rules for us."

Kayleth, Xiwe, and Veldoran gather to hear the interesting news. She continues, "The human and tau are going to search the planets in the area to see what they have to offer. I don't need to see what the future holds for them, but if they shall be rewarded for each world they find livable."

Xiwe disagrees, "The humans will find nothing in this galaxy. There is a few worlds worth taking for kin and reestablishing our empire. The tau will be the only problem I see for us to deal with. It would be wise to see if the humans will destroy the tau for us or be eliminated by the tau."

Veldoran suggests, "Perhaps we can keep the humans on our side and not have them turn against us. The tau could be an ally in the future if we encounter the forces of Malice. So far, the orks are the only enemy I see here. It would also do us well to search this galaxy and learn what we can. The more we understand, the better our chances will be should any situation present itself to us."

Kayleth nods her head, "I agree. There is no sense in letting the humans or the tau have any glory for finding the discoveries. And if your kin don't want to come with us, you can stay here and wait for the danger to come."

Instead of a negative reply, Xiwe accepts the idea and preps her people. With the eldar, tau and imperial looking to the sky, they all wonder what will come next. The journey to a new livable planet excites everyone to a degree or more. At the fortress, Lina and her teams finish up the final touches to the War Harbinger. The ship received a complete repair and overhaul on every part. The warp and FTL drive are back in full condition. As the troops begin to climb aboard their shuttle, Lucas and Lina share a private moment from everyone.

He says, "We won't be gone for too long, but this planet is safe from any ork hordes or trouble. I'm sure with the millions of people here, they won't allow any trouble to fall on them. We will be back soon. Not to mention, your improvements to the base are secure and will hold back anything. I highly doubt the eldar will show up to help."

Lina sighs, "There is still so much on this planet that we have yet to discover. I hope we are back in time to see and shape this world into a frontier for the imperium. The changes may frighten a few people since we are still allowing the tau to stay on. I hope our journey will be interesting."

Carl spends his day keeping the army busy, but he is anxious to set forth into the new galaxy. The idea of finding more life out in the galaxy is worth the risk for the advancement of the imperium. With his last few orders given, a single soldier comes to speak with him. She alerts Carl of the visitor he has waiting for him. Carl didn't take long to guess who it is that came to visit him. He heads over to the south of the gate by shuttle. Once he arrives, he finds Suu standing ready with a troubled appearance.

He comes to her, "One of my soldiers told you wanted to meet me. Is there anything new for me to pass on?"

Suu breathes hard and tries to remain standing. Carl takes notice and asks.

She says, "I will be find, but I must speak with you at the next planet we find. It is important and I hope you will agree once you hear me out."

Carl didn't understand why the message is short, but he understands for now. After enough time has passed, the tau and imperial army finally take to the sky. Many civilians and military stand by as they watch both ships rise up. The War Harbinger and Great Spear quickly take to the orbit and the daily work aboard the ship starts. The tech-priests and engineers check the ship; the data flows to the top of the ship for Lina to go through. Carl and Lucas manage the army with routine drills, gun checks, tactics, and clever traps. On the Great Spear, tech teams and system analysts do their best to ensure their traveling in the new galaxy is safe. No more trips through dark space unless all forms of protection can be created. Shas'O Kais keeps the military up to code; kroot packs sharpen their blades for the hunt. Aun El Rai lets the ship carry his message to all levels for everyone to hear him.

Aun El Rai broadcasts: _"This planet we reside on is our home. But, the galaxy we are in shall offer us a few place to expand for the Greater Good. We will continue to fight against the mad, the damn, the soulless, and the insanity; nothing will stop us and we will find victory."_

The War Harbinger and Great Spear pick coordinates leading to the east. They have no idea what will be waiting for them. The first planet is secure, but no name for it has been picked yet. As the ships take off to the eastern section of the galaxy, he looks on with interest. He smiles as he closes his warp window only to clap his hands together. In the darkness of his sanctum, Balrok looks pleased with the events.

He thought, _"They are still lost. The next encounter will be perfect. I look forward to seeing how well they fight now."_

Balrok looks at his hands. He can still call upon the warp, but the power is not as strong as it should be. Most of his power is still being drained away thanks to the spell. If all goes accordingly, he may just have another chance to stop him.

**Chapter 3: Section 3 - 5**

A twist and twirl here sends the fumes across the landscape. Everything is covered in the smell of the substance. Nothing is able to grow and thrive; the area is barren and at level two to five for radiation. The whole planet is a toxic trap. Only a few areas of the planet offer level one radiation endurance. Each step they take is a dangerous one. Not one single area on the surface is safe. The risk for setting up the small observation camp is a suicide run. The tech-priests study, input, and set up the camp as best they can. He takes a step to the next spot. The meter slowly beeps and keeps him alert. He takes another step and the noise goes faster. He inhales one last time and steps again. The meter goes up. With one more step, the alarm goes up to the first level of radiation. He steps back twice and the alarm goes back. He plants his feet and takes the device from his back. The man holds the device above his head and drives it hard into the soil. Once done, he presses a few buttons to set up the final section fo the shield wall. Instantly, a wave of light goes from the device. It travels from one to another device and keeps going until everything is connected. Once done, the camp is surrounded by a wall of protective shields.

Aboard the War Harbinger, Lina reports: "The first camp is a success. It will still take time to get any use out of this planet, but there is no way this is livable for any of us. Our work here is done, we can recover our tech teams from the surface. I don't want any of them exposed any longer."

Lucas recalls the people from the surface. It is good they found a planet full of radiation, but it is awkard they find it heading back towards the dark region of space.

Carl says, "Well, I am sure glad we didn't land here. I hope our xeno allies have found more places worthy of expansion."

Once the team is back aboard, the War Harbinger travels to the the last area of the Great Spear. It didn't take them long to arrive. They discover the tau pulling away from a planet. Lina contacts the Great Spear.

Shas'O Kais says, "The planet is too hot and full of volcanic activity. We must continue our search elsewhere. Perhaps the western section will have at least one more planet to see."

The ships take their leave into the western zone of the galaxy. It didn't take long for them to find a small moon. With their time finished, they send out probes across the new galaxy. The first system is named Primarex. The planet is named Xoen. As apart of the tau agreement, they would share their planet until they found another. The probes for the tau reveal nothing, but the probes for the imperial army ping something interesting in the south region. The coordinates are set. As the ships journey to the south region of the galaxy, the morale of the tau and imperium are at an all-time high. The weapons on both ships are improved and in top condition; in fact, the rifles and vehicles are ready for any combat drop. Aboard the War Harbinger, Carl keeps his thoughts positive and every soldier maintaining their physical health. From regular check ups to mental issues, all soldiers, ogryns skitarii, and even non-combative teams are fit for work and duty. Lina finishes up her last check on the data before turning her eyes off the monitor. She is happy and eagered to find something new to discovered. Lucas joins her side as they take a break from their duty.

She says, "This galaxy is new with so much unlimited potential. I hope we can use all of this to support our case. You think the tau and eldar will still go after their own missions and leave us here?"

Lucas happily replies, "If the eldar leave, that is fine with us. They have their own mission to keep their people alive. We will still use their galaxy as an expansion for the imperium. Regardless of what year it is, everything will change for us. Maybe this is the imperium we sought after this entire time."

They stare out into the void of space. He holds her greatly as they think of what comes next.

Lina says, "There is not another man I would be proud to be with. I don't know what else is out here, but we can face it together."

He adds, "Nor is there any other woman I want at my side. Once we secure this galaxy, we will do what we can to keep our people safe. I just hope our child is doing well for the imperium."

As the two chat more among each other, Carl reads over his reports as he walks down the hall. He comes to a stop and sees the room where Max once reside. He sighs over it and wonders with thoughts of worry. When and where is Max at? He has to be alive and still battling the forces of darkness. Carl blocks out the thoughts of concern and worry. He continues to head up to the top deck to speak with Lucas and Lina. Although the morale of the guardsmen is high, the tau are eager and curious. In the head of the ship, Aun El Rai goes over his plans for the colonization of the next tau world. One of his advisors come by and brings up the virtual plans of how they would begin. El Rai looks over the information as seen:

_"Step One: Secure a landing site and establish a forward base. Step Two: Extend out the perimeter out at least five to ten miles. Step Three: Open up the Vespid pods and establish housing zones. Step Four: Scout teams are to escort all science teams and exploration teams to any areas for study. Step Five: Ensure any possible zones are not too dangerous for settlements..."_

As Aun El Rai reads through the steps, each one he sees brings him some satisfaction until he sees the optional choices they can do.

_"Optional Task One: Convince the humans to join our cause. Optional Task Two: Forge an alliance against the eldar. Optional Task Three: Study the eldar technology and apply it to tau technology. Optional Task Four: Offer the eldar one final invitation to the eldar."_

Aun El Rai informs one of his advisors to contact Suu and Shas'O Kais. As much as he wanted to leave the plans as they are, the ethereal wants to make sure the plans are for the tau expansion. He approves of a few ideas with his advisors, but some still give him an uneasy thought. Once Suu and Shas'O Kais arrive, the real discuss begins. Shas'O Kais stands proud and glad that all is going well for the tau. Suu is still feeling herself not feel so well.

Aun El Rai turns to them, "I take it some of these other ideas are of your words and plans for the tau? If so, I would like for you to explain each one."

Shas'O Kais answers, "Yes, Aun El Rai. The military plans are of my idea since the galaxy is not completely secure. There are still a few ork clans around this galaxy. We only stopped one of them, but the others will be awaiting us. So, it is in our best interest to establish more military bases to deal with the threat if they should attack. Not to mention, most of these orks are led by one who is no fool."

Suu adds, "I only included the eldar since the humans seem set on keeping them as allies despite how this new group of eldar come off. Carl, Lucas and Lina seem so willing to trust them. Even Veldoran and Shelia have shown us that they will help if we can show them why their cause is similiar to ours. I am more than willing to extend them the offer of joining our empire and becoming apart of something great. In return, they may be willing to share their technology with us."

He raises his hand and forbids them to speak any more. El Rai says, "The time for peace will always be on the table when it is appropriate. Right now, peace is not going to be possible thanks to the orks, the eldar, and the hidden Sons of Malice. Our only time to gain support and help is from the imperial army. For now, we will deal with them all only when they engage us."

Suu breathes harder and harder only to nearly fall over. Her weaken state catches the attention of everyone. El Rai lets her retire to rest up, but it isn't the rest she needs. Suu manages to make it back to her room. She takes a drink of water, but her body still feels weak. With nothing else to do, she submits a request to her active captains to be given a sick leave. As she lays herself down, Suu finds herself unable to do much. One of her comrades comes by and sees her sweating more than usual. She contacts a medic to help her as best as she can. After enough time goes, the ships arrive in the south portion of the galaxy. A new set of probes go in all directions. Both ships pick up something in the distance. The War Harbinger and Great Spear journey further down south until they come to a light brown planet. With quicks scans, the whole planet is nothing but a desert world. One probe from each ship is sent down to the planet. To everyone's surprise, a ping is heard from the system. The information on the ping is quickly collected and looked over. Lina and her tech-priests analysis the data; the discovery from the ping reveals a discovery like nothing. Lina informs Lucas and Carl of what she has found.

Lina says, "Thanks to the ping, it shows that there is a massive structure below on the surface. I am still wondering how anything out here in this galaxy has survived, but that is what makes it worth searching. The answer will be found once we go to the source. I also discovered from the data that a source of metal is below us. I can't wait to see what this is."

Lucas and Carl greatly smile at what they will find. A communication from the Great Spear comes to them. Lucas takes the call to see Shas'O Kais.

Kais says, "Our probe on this planet has found something quite interesting. We will gladly send our teams out with you if you have any that will go."

Lucas agrees to the idea as the ships break through the sky of the new planet. As the data shows, nothing but sand for miles around. All the shield covers open on the War Harbinger; in fact, all of level four opens it shuttle ports for everyone to look out. Everyone looks out in the opening to see the dune sea go for miles on. The air isn't as hot as it should be, but enough days without water will kill any being on this barren world. As the ship travel on, the scans of what they find are indeed a surprise.

Ahead of them by only two miles, they find a pipe made out of metal. The pipe shows air being drawn into the hole. Lina uses the computer to scan the device. The pipe is made by human hands, but the design is from a long time ago. Carl arrives to the fourth level and gazes out into the opening. He is glad to see something human make it out here this far, but it is hard to believe what the eyes see. He looks to the distance and informs level one.

He says, "I pray by the emperor that my eyes are being fooled, but I see what our probes found."

Lina and Lucas pulls up the screen; they find the source of the ping. Massive and large in size, the entire War Harbinger and Great Spear see a colossal structure. Within minutes of study, they discover a Hive City. The count is unknown, but everyone is anxious to see the new faces of this city. Carl smirks at his chance to be the first person to look into; however, Lucas offfers to lead the charge this time. The air near the city smells horrid and bad based on what data shows. With the air by the city dangerous, Lucas takes every precaution Lina can provide. An alert is sent to the tau for the expedition inside the city. Shas'O Kais agrees to join Lucas. The journey inside the city holds many secrets, but what will they find.


End file.
